Guardians of Light: A Shadow Forms
by Alphadude007
Summary: For light to exist, darkness must exist as well. Even as happiness spreads across Equestria as a new princess is crowned, an ancient evil is at work. A nation starved and desperate looks for sources of food, but gets something entirely different. Soon, even the changelings will find that not everything is as it seems as an old shadow makes ready its return.
1. Chapter 1

**Guardians of Light: A Shadow Forms**

**Chapter 1**

-Canterlot Castle courtyard-

Canterlot was normally bustling at this time of the day. Ponies would travel to and fro doing their daily affairs, the social elite would be relaxing and enjoying the privileges of society, and children would be learning Equestrian geography in school. But today was not a normal day.

Crowds filled the Canterlot Castle courtyard as cheers and shouts of happiness and praise rose up at the pony that made herself present. Just a day ago, she was a simple unicorn that worked as a local librarian in the small village of Ponyville. Today, she was a princess.

Twilight was exuberant as her chariot was pulled down the happy streets of Canterlot. Everything she could have hoped for was happening. She had faced multiple trials that had tested both herself and her friends. In the end, Twilight and her friends had come out on top every time. She had taken tests and passed them all with flying colors. She had proven that she had the stuff to become a princess. And now here she was, surrounded by loyal subjects and her closest friends. To think that in only a few short years, she would go from a socially awkward egghead to an amiable pony that would be a close friend to everypony she knew. The lavender pony knew better than to credit herself. Twilight knew it was because of the ponies she met on that first day in Ponyville that she would become what she was today.

She looked down at her friends on the street. The loyal Rainbow Dash, the honest Applejack, the glamorous Rarity, the jubilant Pinkie Pie, and the mild Fluttershy. Each of them helped Twilight along the way to becoming a princess. And now here they were, trotting down Canterlot in a parade to celebrate Twilight's coronation.

Twilight smiled as she began to wave to her subjects and sing joyously.

"Life in Equestria shimmers, life in Equestria shines!" She sung as she caught a bouquet of colorful flowers. As her chariot neared her friends, she leapt off and joined them in a trot down the streets. She glanced at her dear friends and resumed singing. "And I know for absolute certain…_" _She sung, allowing her friends to help her in singing the joyous tune.

Twilight and her friends continued singing as they passed the celebrating citizens of Canterlot. "That everything, yes everything, yes everything is certainly fine." They sang as the song reached a crescendo.

From the top of the castle overlooking the coronation parade, Princesses Celestia and Luna looked upon the ceremony with great happiness. The princess of the sun was proud to see the pony Twilight had become as years of teaching and studying had paid off. Luna looked at all the happiness and looked at Celestia thoughtfully, feeling the same joy that emanated from her sister.

Down on the streets, Twilight and her friends reached a balcony that overlooked the lands of Equestria. As they finished singing, Twilight spread her wings and took off into the sky.Her friends watched from the balcony as their new princess flew away.

"Yes! Everything is going to be just fine!" Twilight exclaimed in pure joy as she flew over her new realm.

-Changeling Hive-

She looked over her kingdom. All she saw was sadness. Normally the hive was bustling with activity as drones extracted love from the pods, but not in recent months. Her drones buzzed about, looking for some love to feed on. The hive had never been the same since the failed Canterlot attack. She looked at the empty green pods, her hungry subjects, and the lack of activity she was seeing in the hive. She exited her chamber's balcony and went inside.

Chrysalis felt a strange mix of emotions. The ones she felt would not normally be associated with one another. These included anger, sadness, desperation and contentment.

She felt anger towards herself and her subjects for failing to obtain love to feed on. They had come so close to taking Canterlot and being able to feed for months on the love they would have harvested, but it was not meant to be. Who did Chrysalis blame? Herself? The drones of her hive? Or fate itself? Whatever the case, her changelings were still starving regardless of whose fault it was.

She felt sadness towards what her precious hive had become in recent weeks. Before the Canterlot invasion, the hive was busy with activity. The big green love pods that dotted the ground of the hive would be full of creatures big and small. From those creatures they could extract love to feed on. The mood of the hive was generally upbeat and its dwellers felt confident in the strength of the hive. However, after the failed assault on the Equestrian capital, all that changed. Drones no longer had motivation to go out and seek creatures to feed off of. As a result, the state of the hive began to stagnate. Pods were less and less filled and changelings continued living a starving existence.

Chrysalis felt desperation for what she would do to help her children be restored to their pre-invasion state. Her drones were the most important beings in the world to her. She felt their pain as well as their happiness. If it meant giving herself to the hive for love, she would do it.

And finally, she felt a strange feeling of contentment, a poisonous contentment. It was the feeling that the state of her hive couldn't get any worse and it wouldn't be getting better any time soon. If that were the case, why bother trying to make it better? Chrysalis knew that line of thought was a dangerous one to follow, yet she had felt an unusual feeling of demotivation in recent weeks. It was more of a lingering thought in the back of her mind than an actual attitude she carried with her during the day. Whether she carried out the thought or not, it still scared her that the thought even existed in her mind.

Chrysalis gave a defeated sigh. "So close to victory…"The queen said to herself, her perforated wings buzzing in irritation. They were so close to victory and so far from defeat. She had even defeated Princess Celestia herself for buck's sake! And yet in the blink of an eye, she and her subjects were blasted out of the Equestrian capital. Never had they found more love than in the land of Equestria, and yet they were denied it. "…but here we stand in this pit of ruin."

_Don't they realize that we need to feed on love to survive?_ She thought, thinking about the physical state of her subjects. Changelings were naturally skinny, but recently her drones had become so malnourished that even the most starved creatures of the forest would look well fed compared to the changelings of her hive. Just to survive, the strongest of the hive would have to feed on the weaker ones. Chrysalis cringed at the memories of seeing her children feeding off each other. When the unfortunate changeling's love was sucked out completely, the empty husk would be thrown out of the hive for the animals to devour. She hated it, but if that is what it would take to survive, then necessary evils had to be done.

Chrysalis paced in her chamber. The changeling queen tried to think of how to find love to feed on without risking the safety of her subjects, but nothing came to mind. She sighed in exasperation.

Footsteps behind her drew her attention from her thoughts. Chrysalis looked behind her to see Raspian, her captain of the guard, standing in the entryway to her chambers. She could tell it was Raspian because he was slightly larger than the normal changeling and didn't have holes on his left hind leg.

"You may enter, Raspian." Chrysalis addressed the changeling captain. Raspian responded by stepping past her chamber's doorway and entering her chambers. "What news is it that you bring me?" Chrysalis asked. Right now, any kind of news was something she could use.

"Your highness, our scout drones have located a strong concentration of love not far from here." Raspian said with a hiss.

"How strong was the concentration?" the changeling queen asked. Depending on the strength of the love source, the love source's presence could be felt anywhere from a meter away to a mile by any changeling.

"One of the scouts said that they felt the source's power almost two miles away." Raspian said, earning a shocked look from his queen.

_That can't be. It's too good to be true._ Chrysalis thought as a large smile found its way onto her face. "Is it another band of ponies?" She asked with sudden interest. The last time a small pony caravan dared to venture into her domain, the changelings had love to last a few months. And if it was a group of ponies, then Chrysalis would be able to take some form of vengeance on ponykind.

"We do not believe so, your Majesty. This love source was felt in the mountainous region south of the Crystal Empire. Pony caravans would have considerable difficulty moving through that kind of terrain." Raspian responded. Chrysalis pondered this. While slightly disappointed that it wasn't a group of ponies, it aroused new suspicions as to what the love source could be.

"And you said that it is south of the Crystal Empire?" Chrysalis asked, raising an eyebrow.

"The northern part of the mountainous region to the south, yes. Just outside of Princess Cadence's jurisdiction." Raspian said.

_How convenient. Perhaps too convenient._ Chrysalis thought as she began walking under the cave arch that exited her quarters. Could the love source be a trap set up by some creature of the mountains? Maybe. Not knowing what could be the origin of the love source both interested and terrified the changeling queen. The source of love could have been anything from a population of cute snow rabbits to a ferocious yeti.

Chrysalis made up her mind and began walking through the exit of her chambers and into the exit tunnel of the cave. The possible outcomes to help her children outweighed the possible risks of the journey.

"My lady, where are you going?" Raspian asked, concerned for his queen. Having participated in the Canterlot battle, he knew he couldn't risk her going by herself so close to pony-controlled territory again. He followed her as she continued down the cave.

"To find this love source. My people need sustenance, Raspian. My intention is to find it and bring it back." She said as she strolled towards the cave entrance. Sunlight filled the entryway, causing the changeling queen and her guard to squint at the bright light.

"Begging your pardon, majesty, but I cannot let you go alone." Raspian said, giving his queen a stern look.

Chrysalis looked behind her and gave the changeling captain a thoughtful look. "Then come with me on this search. If you insist on protecting me, then your only option is to escort me on this endeavor. Let the administrators handle the day-to-day affairs." Chrysalis said, spreading her wings. "Besides, the more of us, the more ground we will be able to cover." Raspian unfurled his green transparent wings.

"Very well, your majesty. I will accompany you to this source." Raspian complied.

As soon as the words left his mouth, Chrysalis took off into the air, her wings buzzing as they flapped. Hesitantly, her captain began flying close behind her.

Chrysalis began thinking about what Raspian had reported. _A love source felt from two miles away? With a love source that strong, we will have food for the next year!_ Chrysalis thought as she began to fly faster towards the northern mountains, her captain trying to keep pace. Should there be pony intervention, monsters, or demons from Tartarus, it would not stop her from feeding her people.


	2. Chapter 2

**Guardians of Light: A Shadow Forms**

**Chapter 2**

-Canterlot Castle courtyard balcony-

Twilight flapped her new wings as she descended onto the balcony from which she had taken off. As soon as her hooves touched the stone path, her friends rushed to greet her. It wasn't two seconds later when all her friends were embracing her in a warm hug.

The group of friends remained in the hug for a few seconds before a cyan pegasus with a rainbow-colored mane spoke up. "You being a princess doesn't change anything, right?"

"This doesn't change anything at all, Rainbow." Twilight responded, still embracing her friends.

"Yeah! Just because Twilight is a princess now doesn't mean we still can't have lots of fun together!" A bubblegum pink pony with a poofy hot pink mane said as the hug broke up. They all looked at Twilight with smiles on their faces.

"Pinkie's right. We're still the best of friends, are we not?" A white unicorn with a curly styled mane said in a sophisticated tone.

"Of course we are, Rarity." An orange pony with a blond mane named Applejack answered in a country accent. "We're sticking to ya like syrup on a pancake, Twilight."

Twilight looked at her friends with a big smile on her face. They had been through thin and thick together, carrying each other through all the trying times and having fun together when there wasn't a catastrophe to avoid.

A timid voice spoke up. "Applejack's right. What ever happens, Twilight, we'll be there for you." Said Fluttershy, a yellow pegasus with a long pink mane and tail.

Twilight's eyes began to tear up at seeing her friends this happy for her. Fluttershy was right. What ever happens, they'd be there for her. "I love you girls." Twilight said, pulling the other five ponies into another hug.

-Canterlot Castle south tower-

From the castle tower, Princess Celestia looked at her student with pride. The sun goddess was so proud of how far Twilight had come in the few years she had been in Ponyville. Save for that one fluke where she had sent the small town into a rampage over a doll she put a hex on, Twilight's studies in the magic of friendship had gone perfectly.

"You have done well, sister." Said Celestia's sister, Luna, with a smile on her face. Celestia beamed at her sister's remark.

"It was Twilight that did most of the work. I merely instructed her." Celestia said, trying to give Twilight the credit.

"Merely instructed? You raised her as if she were your own, taught her what most unicorns would dream of learning, and to top it off, you even molded her into a princess. I'd say the word 'instructing' is an understatement." Luna said, raising an eyebrow, challenging her sister to make a comeback.

Celestia sighed in resignation. "Okay so maybe I had quite a bit of involvement with my student's studies. That doesn't rule out the fact that she has come a long way from the social recluse that she was just a few years ago." She said, turning her attention back to the ceremony below. The ponies were still cheering for their newest princess and Twilight was still enjoying the company of her friends.

_Friends._ Celestia thought. Being an unaging princess, she had seen many good friends come and go. Starswirl, Clover the Clever, Chancellor Puddinghead… The list went on and on. However, she knew how their friendships would end every time. She'd outlast them. Her smile faded as she remembered friends from centuries past. Ponies of varying shape and character filled her mind as she recounted the days she had with each of them. Celestia gave a heavy sigh as she remembered her now deceased friends.

"Is everything okay, Tia?" Luna asked, putting a hoof on her sister's shoulder.

Celestia's smile returned as quickly as it had vanished. "Yes, everything is fine. Just got lost in thought." She said as she looked at Twilight from the tower. Her thoughts took over again as she thought about the immortality that Twilight had just been given. It was a great gift, but also a terrible curse. _Does Twilight know the consequences of what she has just received?_ Celestia thought. _Of course she does. She is the smartest unicorn in Equestria after all. But still…_ She thought. _Oh enough of these thoughts. Let's just celebrate for now._ Celestia resolved as her horn lit up.

Luna glanced at her sister, seeing her horn light up. "Where are you going?"

"To go congratulate my student." Celestia said, her horn flashing a bright yellow light, causing Luna to shield her eyes. When Luna looked up, Celestia was gone. She looked down at the ceremony and saw Celestia teleport in front of Twilight and her friends. Luna smiled warmly her sister. She hadn't seen Celestia this happy in a long time.

Luna looked down at the parade and smiled. _Like Twilight said, everything is certainly fine._ Luna thought.

-Sky above the northern border of the Everfree Forest-

"We should be nearing the mountain range soon! How far into the mountains is this love source?" Chrysalis shouted to Raspian, who was trying desperately hard to keep pace with her. Chrysalis looked ahead to see the large mountains towering over her. The sheer size of the mountains should have been enough to put the changeling queen in a state of awe, but her mind was on her subjects. The two changelings were now speeding over the last of the green treetops of the Everfree Forest as the terrain became hillier and more elevated. As they neared the mountains, both changelings felt a sharp drop in air temperature. Being cold blooded, they knew they couldn't stay in the cold for extended periods of time. However, if it meant that they might freeze to death in the middle of a mountain range to find food for her people, Chrysalis would take that risk.

"Not much farther, your majesty. The scouts said it was just south of the Crystal Empire's borders."

"How close to the Empire's borders did the scouts say?" Chrysalis asked, looking back and raising an eyebrow at Raspian.

"Just ten miles south of the southern-most gate!" The changeling captain shouted over the new mountain wind that began blowing into them.

_Just far enough away for us to work without interruption. Perfect._ Chrysalis thought as she began flying over small snow-covered hills.

Within minutes, the terrain under the changelings shifted dramatically. In little more than two miles, the land under the changelings had gone from rolling hills to rising mountain slopes.

Chrysalis and Raspian flying upward and forward into the mountains above them. Once they got above the mountains, Chrysalis stopped and began to hover in midair, Raspian following close behind.

"What *pant* do we do *pant* now?" Raspian asked between strained breaths.

Chrysalis looked around the mountainous land around them. The cold mountain wind cut straight through her flesh and into her bones. The wind blew her dark teal mane into her face, making it difficult to see.

"We can't stay up her for very long." She said. "Try to find some shelt-" Chyrsalis began to say, but cut herself off as a certain feeling slammed into her. It was sudden warmth. It wasn't tangible warmth like the heat of the sun, but a feeling of happiness and joy. It was a warmness that one might receive from feeling… love.

"Milady, are you alright?" Raspian asked in a concerned tone.

Chrysalis's head snapped in Raspian's direction. "This way." She said quickly and sternly, turning and diving towards the mountains below. Raspian didn't know what she was doing, but he followed her towards the rocks.

The wind whistled past her face as Chrysalis zipped towards the craggy tops of the mountains. The warmness she felt inside was getting warmer the closer she got to the mountain slopes.

"Can you feel it, Raspian?" Chrysalis called back to the captain.

"Feel wha-" Raspian was about to ask, but shut his mouth at the feeling of a soft warmth that hit him like a brick wall.

Chrysalis heard Raspian's words cut off and looked back at her captain. On the changeling's face was a look of hunger. The same kind of look a dog would have if there were a sizzling T-bone steak sitting in front of it.

"You feel it too! We need to find a landing spot and investigate!" She shouted over the mountain gusts that blew to and fro. The two changelings leveled out over the tops of the mountains and shot over them, scanning for a place to land.

"Agreed! Although I think we should hurry! With these winds and chilled air, we can't stay up here for much longer!" Raspian responded as they both looked down at the ground below while trying to keep balance in the wind. The wind was getting more intense now as it began to sound more like the howl of a windigo instead of just the blowing of a breeze. Raspian clenched his teeth at the sound as the wind tore through his very being, chilling him to the bone. Snow was being blown off the mountains as well, causing the snow to sting his eyes as he flew through it.

Chrysalis's eyes narrowed as she spotted a patch of snow in the middle of the mountains. It was surrounded by hills so the wind wouldn't be a factor and the patch had a cliff on the opposite side from their approach. "Down there! Hurry!" She shouted as she went into a dive towards the snowy opening. Raspian was soon behind her, ready to get out of the howling wind.

Chrysalis landed on the snow, happy her hooves were touching the ground again and not in the middle of a blizzard. Raspian's landing wasn't so graceful, however. A last minute gust sent his descent out of control. He fought to maintain his landing, but to no avail. He braced for impact as he careened past his queen and smashed face-first into a snow bank. Chyrsalis looked to where Raspian had crashed and saw that only his hindquarters were sticking out of the snow. Chrysalis chuckled with amusement at her captain's predicament.

"Tht cudve gn btter." Raspian said with a muffled voice from inside the mound of snow.

Chrysalis smirked at the spectacle. "Come on, Captain. We need to find that love source."

Raspian got up from under the snow and shook it off his body. "Yes, my lady." He said, brushing off some snow that clung to his twisted horn. He looked around him. Everywhere he looked, there were mountains and snow. _No love source here._ He thought as he trotted up next to his queen. "I don't see any sign of a love source near by. Where could it be?" He asked. He was definitely feeling the warmth that the love source was giving off, but he couldn't tell from where.

"Don't trust your sight, my captain. Remember that you should feel where the love is and not try to find it with your basic senses." Chrysalis said as she closed her eyes, trying to locate the position of the love source. There was a strong wave of love that was coming from directly beneath her. She began walking out of the snowy patch and onto a cliff that jutted out of the mountain. She looked down and saw a cave entrance in the cliff face. _Bingo._ She thought as she leapt over the cliff.

Raspian ran to the cliff edge and looked over it. He saw his queen's tail disappear into a cave in the cliff wall. He jumped down and maneuvered his way into the cave. The swirling wind outside made a light whistling sound as it blew in front of the cave entrance. Once inside, Raspian took a look around the cave's entrance. Shiny green emeralds crystals covered the walls, giving the cave walls an ethereal green light. He looked ahead to find Chrysalis walking farther into the cave. She seemed to be in a trance, following the direction of the love source.

"My lady?" Raspian called to his queen, his voice reverberating off the walls.

"I am fine, Raspian. I can feel the love nearby. It's so close." Chrysalis said, turning her head back to him but kept her eyes closed.

Raspian closed his eyes and focused on his internal compass. Yes, there was a love source in the cave. He could feel the soft warmness coming from in front of him. That meant that whatever the love was coming from, it was close and straight ahead of them.

They continued down the cave, their perforated hooves clicking and clacking on the cave floor. Raspian looked around to see that the emeralds were behind them and now they were walking on solid cave rock. The light from the emeralds still remained as something caught his eye. What he saw looked like scratches in the cave wall, but upon further inspection, he found that they were something else.

"Your majesty, come look at this." Raspian said. Chrysalis turned to see him looking at the wall. What she saw surprised her. Runes and markings covered the wall, but they weren't any markings she'd seen before. Her eyes travelled down the various markings to find one specific type of rune. Her eyes widened.

"I can't believe it." Chrysalis said in a shocked whisper. Raspian lowered his head next to hers.  
"Is that ancient changeling text?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It is." Chrysalis said in awe. Raspian's jaw dropped. "Writing like this hasn't been seen in a thousand years."

"Can you read it?" Raspian asked, looking to his queen.

Chrysalis didn't turn her head to face Raspian as she spoke. "Study of the ancient language is one of my specialties, captain. Of course I can translate it." She said, focusing on the words.

After a few seconds, she read,

"_In this cave, an ancient evil lies within,_

_When released, the long night shall begin._

_Through it, all races shall bind,_

_As the fates of all become intertwined._

_The Six will become Eight,_

_And end the Guardians' wait._

Raspian tilted his head at the mysterious runes. "What does it mean?"

Chrysalis shook her head. "Whatever it is talking about must have happened a thousand years ago when it was written. Come on, we need to find that love source." She said, trotting farther down into the cave. Raspian gave the text one last look before following his queen.

The cave was now becoming darker as they ventured deeper into the cave, the emeralds' light fading behind them.  
"I can feel it. It's so close." Chrysalis said, breaking into a gallop towards the love source's location. Raspian raced behind her as she sped into the depths of the cave.

Desperation, hunger, and survival were all that went through Chrysalis's mind as she felt the love source growing stronger. The once soft warmness within her chest now felt like a raging inferno. Her eyes scanned the cave, trying to see where the love source was coming from. Within seconds, her eyes adjusted to the darkness of the cave as she slowed down. She looked around her to see that she was in a massive cavern. Stalactites and stalagmites covered the cave's floor and ceiling. Water dripped from the jagged rocks and dropped onto the cave floor producing a small _plink_ sound. However, there was one corner of the cavern where light didn't shine on it. Only a shadow sat in the corner. Raspian caught up to Chrysalis and gazed in awe at the cavern before him.

"We could use this as a substitute cave if ours back home runs out of room." He said. Chrysalis looked at him and actually considered the idea. However, there were more important things to do. She jumped from the edge she was on and opened her wings. She glided down onto the cavern floor as the love source's presence got stronger. Raspian was soon by her side.

It was so close. Chrysalis walked toward the back corner of the cavern where the shadow was and took a closer look at it. It looked like the silhouette of a pony sitting down, but something about it seemed off. The love source was coming from it, but she couldn't really see what it was.

Chrysalis was about to signal Raspian to investigate it, but the shadow spoke up in a low growl. "Welcome to my dwelling place, Queen Chrysalis of the Changeling Hive."


	3. Chapter 3

**Guardians of Light: A Shadow Forms**

**Chapter 3**

-Canterlot Castle courtyard balcony-

The hug that Twilight and her friends were in broke up when a bright light flashed next them. The six ponies looked to see Princess Celestia standing before them, a proud smile on her face.

"Well done, Princess Twilight. You have proven that you have the qualities and skills to be a princess of Equestria. I couldn't be more proud of you, my faithful student." Celestia said to the new princess.

Twilight beamed as she trotted over to her mentor. "Well, I could never have done it without the help of the friends I've made over the years." She said, glancing back at her five friends. They replied with happy smiles of their own.

Celestia looked over Twilight and her friends. "So what are you going to do now, Princess?" She asked, her eyebrow rising while she kept a smile.

Twilight looked at her friends then back at Celestia. Now that she was a princess, she could reside wherever she wanted. She ran through the list of cities and towns she could choose from, but one town in particular stood above the rest.

"I think I'll be staying in Ponyville with my friends." Twilight said as Celestia gave a smile at her response.

"Very well, Twilight. And where in Ponyville will you be staying?" she asked. Twilight didn't have to think very hard on the matter.

"Where I've been for the past couple of years is fine, Princess." Celestia nodded. She knew Twilight was a simple pony that didn't take much to fancy decorum or decadent castles. The Ponyville Library would be perfect for her.

"So no splendid palace then?" Celesita partially joked. Twilight smiled at her teacher.

"No castle for me, Princess. Just some books, a few friends, and a quiet countryside are all I need." Twilight responded.

Celestia nodded. "Very well, then, Princess. You may return to Ponyville when you're ready." Celestia said, her horn beginning to glow. Twilight and her friends shielded their eyes as the sun goddess teleported back to the tower from where she'd come from.

"So are we going back home, Twilight?" Asked a small purple dragon with a lime green underbelly.

Twilight put an arm around the young dragon. "Yes, Spike. We're going home." She said with a smile.

-Mountain cave, south of Crystal Empire

Before Chrysalis and Raspian stood in both fear and amazement before the shadowy figure.

"How do you know my name?" Chrysalis asked the shadow in the corner. Raspian had gotten into an attacking stance in front of his queen at hearing her majesty's name from a strange creature they'd never seen before.

"The better question is whose name do I not know? And Raspian, if you could drop the fighting stance, that'd make me more comfortable."

This caused Chrysalis's eyebrow to rise in curiosity as Raspian returned to a relaxed state. "Fine. You know our names, but what is yours?" the changeling queen asked.

"My true name has been lost to history. I once had many names, but you may call me Lodestar." The shadow responded, rising from his sitting position.

Chrysalis felt uneasy as the mysterious shadow moved. It seemed a kind of black magic flowed from Lodestar when he moved, almost like a black fog that seemed to emanate from him.

"A name lost to history? How long have you been alive?" Raspian asked, putting a perforated hoof forward tentatively.

"Been alive here, been dead there… It's easy to tell where I am alive and where I am not." Lodestar responded. Raspian raised an eyebrow in confusion while Chrysalis's eyes narrowed at the vague response.

"We sensed a love source coming from inside this cave. Was that you?" Chrysalis asked, her tone growing dangerous.

"You mean that love illusion I've been doing for the past day? Yes. That was me." The shadowy figure responded in an arrogant tone. "I'm glad some of my magic still works."

Chrysalis's curiosity was soon replaced with fury. "You tricked us with an illusion spell?" She said, her figure quaking with fury. "Do you know how desperate my people have become? A beacon of love such as the one you faked would have provided my people with enough food for the hive to have doubles of for the next month! Why would you do this?!" Chrysalis shouted angrily at Lodestar.

Lodestar simply smiled at the angry changeling queen. "Because you need my help and I need yours." He responded, taking a step forward. Now that he was out of shadow, the changelings could see a steel gray hoof that seemed to ooze shadow from it.

"What could you do to help my hive? Nothing short of the love from every pony in Canterlot could stop the famine my people are currently in." Chrysalis said, wondering what Lodestar could do for her people.

Even thought they couldn't see it, Lodestar was smiling as he spoke in a low voice. "I can give you much more than that." Chrysalis's ears perked at hearing this. "Why stop with just Canterlot? One measly city?" Dark paused to chuckle at the lack of ambition this queen obviously had. "Please. Take some initiative, Queen Chrysalis. Why stop with Canterlot when I can give you all of Equestria to feed on?"

At this, both Chrysalis and Raspian were surprised. "All of Equestria? How can that be possible?" Raspian asked. He remembered the trouble it took to hold Canterlot for less than thirty minutes.

"On your own, it is an impossibility." Lodestar said in a condescending tone. "Help me out of this cave and your people will never have to worry about hunger ever again."

Chrysalis considered her options. She didn't know who exactly this shadowy creature was or what this creature would do if she helped it. However, there were her subjects to think about. The hive was weeks from cannibalizing itself and Chrysalis needed to find food as quickly as possible for her people.

"How do we know we can trust you?" Raspian asked the shadowy figure.

Lodestar looked down and regarded the smaller changeling with a grin. "You don't." He said bluntly. "But are you willing to take the chance that I can help you and your people?" He asked, turning his attention back to Chrysalis.

After a few moments, Chrysalis looked at Lodestar. "Fine. But should you trick me again, blood will be spilled onto this cave floor. Am I clear?" Chrysalis said as Raspian looked at her with concern.

"Transparently." Lodestar responded with a smile. "So are we ready to cooperate with one another?"

Raspian raised an eyebrow at his queen. Chrysalis replied with a determined look.

"It seems we are." She said resolutely.

Lodestar's smile grew behind the veil of shadow around him. "Excellent. So do either of you have a plan on how to get me out of this cave?"

Chrysalis was already beginning to formulate a plan. "I have an idea. It is a risky one, but an idea nonetheless."

While the changelings could not see it, Lodestar's bright yellow eyes glinted with glee. "I'm listening."

An hour later, Chrysalis and Raspian flew out of the mountain cave, their wings buzzing against the blowing mountain wind. Raspian looked in front of him at his queen concernedly. She hadn't said anything since the formulation of the plan. Was she nervous? Was she excited? Well, only one way to find out.

"Are you sure this is going to work, your majesty?" Raspian asked, his voice bouncing off the tunnel walls.

"I know it will, captain." Chrysalis said immediately. "I just hope that Lodestar holds up his end of the deal."

"I don't know, my queen. He doesn't seem like the type we can trust." Raspian said, furrowing his brows together.

Chrysalis stopped immediately in the middle of the air, causing Raspian to overshoot her. Raspian stopped and looked back at his queen. On her face was an angry look. _Oh dear._ He thought as he hovered over to her.

"Is everything alright, milady?" Raspian asked.

"Are we any different, Raspian?" Chrysalis asked him with a stern look. Raspian looked like a disciplined child as Chrysalis scolded him. "My people need food and they need it fast. That creature seems to be the only safe option we have left shy of a last-chance assault on the rest of Equestria. I don't care if you trust him or not. The fact is we need him." She said despondently. Raspian nodded in agreement. Chrysalis turned south and began flying back to the hive with Raspian in tow.

They didn't say another word as they sped over the treetops of the Everfree Forest and towards the cave entrance to the hive. The changelings flew through the circular tunnel opening that led to the main hive chamber. Once they cleared the tunnel, both changelings' wings buzzed as they descended to the rocky cave surface.

Chrysalis stared at the empty green love extraction cocoons and the hungry changelings that buzzed about, trying find food. The changeling queen sighed.

"It seems it's time to start with the plan." Raspian said, breaking the sad silence. "Should I go and gather some of the drones?" Raspian said, extending his wings.

"Yes. Go get three of the best deceivers we have and bring them to my quarters. Tell them they will be rewarded for their efforts should they accept the mission." Chrysalis said. Raspian saluted and flew into one of the hive's tunnels at the far end of the chamber.

Chrysalis took a seat at the edge of the chamber. She looked at what her kingdom and imagined what once was a short time ago. Now it stood in ruin. A tear formed in her eye at the sight of such fallen splendor. _We need this. _She thought as she extended her wings and flew to her chambers, now with a determined look on her face._ If that pony doesn't hold up his end, he'll wish he'd never faked that love source._ _With this plan, we will rise from where we have fallen. Equestria will be ours, along with all the love that is within its borders._ Chrysalis thought, putting a holed hoof to her chin. As she thought, her despondence became determination _You know, if we can take Equestria, why stop there? What of the Griffon Kingdoms to the east and the Crystal Ponies to the north? Why stop with Equestria when we can have the world? _A wicked gleam formed in the changeling queen's eye as she landed in her chambers. _Enough with these dreams, I have a plan to carry out._


	4. Chapter 4

**Guardians of Light: A Shadow Forms**

**Chapter 4**

-Canterlot Castle-

"What a wonderful celebration." Luna said as she walked down the white-walled corridor that led to her quarters. Turning to the right, Luna began walking towards a semicircular obsidian archway. On top of the decadent black archway was a silver crescent moon, . While the black and silver clashed with the white of the walls surrounding her, Luna liked the contrast. As she walked into her chambers, she sighed in exhaustion. She was not usually awake during the day unless it was a special occasion or emergency that her sister needed her help for. While the coronation had been a joy to attend, she was really missing her sleep.

She looked around her room. Nothing had changed, even in the thousand years she was gone, no one had touched a thing. She looked up and smiled at the illustrations of the white moon and constellations that covered the black ceiling. Her eyes travelled down as she looked at the circular bed with midnight blue covers. She trotted across the black tile and lay on her bed after taking off her crown. She closed her eyes and began to slumber.

Luna looked around the dreamscape. The moon hung high in the night sky, stars filling the black void of the night. She appeared to be in some sort of village. Colts and fillies played in the schoolyard outside a big red schoolhouse. She saw some mares that were going to a spa to catch up on the latest gossip while others were manning stands in a marketplace.

In the middle of the town was a large circular building with a conical roof. Down the street from that, a tree with a door and windows stood tall among the buildings. In the other direction, there was what looked like address shop with pony mannequins in the windows. The village looked familiar. She had been here before.

_Ponyville._ Luna thought as she continued to look around town, smiling at the busy villagers and the children that played under the moon. Ponyville was such a peaceful place. Not at all like the bustling urban centers of cities like Manehattan or Canterlot. Because of that, Luna had a deep-seated love for the small rural town.

She trotted towards the tree with windows, feeling a familiarity with the place. She looked in the window and saw shelves of books. _Ah. Twilight's library._ Luna thought as she was reminded of the purple bookworm-turned-princess.

Luna walked to the window, expecting to see Twilight and her dragon assistant working, but saw that the lights were off and nopony was home. Out of curiosity, she walked to the door and pushed at the door with her hoof. The door slowly creaked open, the uncertainty of the place beckoning Luna inside. The entrance gave way to a large circular room that was filled with books. Books on pony history, spell casting, cooking, fashion, and myriads of others lined the many shelves in the room. Luna looked around the room but saw nopony. Her gaze travelled around the room until a certain book caught her eye. It was a large bright white book with gold binding. Her curiosity piqued and she trotted over to it. As she neared it, she began to hear strange whispers. Incoherent and disjoined whispers filled the air as Luna began to feel uneasy about the book. Luna could make out what some of the whispers were saying.

"_He is coming soon." _

"_The ancient one returns." _

"_The sun will become cold."_

Hearing these made Luna's eyes widen. Was it a warning? Was it a riddle? She shook these thought from her mind and decided to find out what was in this book. Her horn glowed a dark blue as the book levitated off the shelf, a few of the books next to it fell over where the book had been. She levitated the book in front of her and saw the cover, the whispers now becoming louder as the book hovered over to Luna. The first thing she noticed was the cover. On the cover was a pearl embedded in the cover with a layer of solid gold encircling it. There was no title or author on the cover, just the pearl and gold.

Luna narrowed her eyes as she opened the book to the first page. As she turned the cover, the whispers grew suddenly silent. Luna looked around, feeling suspicious. Her attention turned back to the book as she beheld the first page. _Nothing?_ Luna thought as she stared at a blank piece of paper. She turned the page to see if there was anything written. Still nothing.

Frustrated, Luna began flipping through the pages using her magic. She suddenly noticed a word as she flipped through the pages. _A paper flip book?_ Luna thought as she read the first word: "He". Luna flipped back through the pages, this time in reverse. Upon doing so, she saw a second word: "Has". _He has? He has what? _Luna thought as she flipped through the pages a third time. Luna narrowed her eyes as the third word was revealed: "Found". _He has found? Found what?_ Luna thought, turning the pages forward a fourth and final time. Strangely, no word was seen as the pages flipped. As the last page turned, Luna gasped at what she saw. Inscribed on the inside back cover of the book read: "YOU".

Luna dropped the book in fright, a look of abject terror on her visage. The book landed on the ground with a loud _THUD_. Luna looked down at the book, seeing no damage. She then looked up and screamed at what she saw. Two bright yellow eyes were staring at her. Two eyes Luna could never forget. The eyes began to float closer to Luna as she tried to run away and escape, but the door to the library kept getting farther away the harder she tried.

"YOU'RE DEAD! I SAW YOU DIE! GET AWAY FROM ME!" Luna shrieked as a white fang-toothed smile appeared beneath the eyes. Luna looked back to see the eyes and smile catching up to her. Not seeing where she was going, Luna felt something catch her hooves and felt herself beginning to fall. Luna looked back to see that a loose board was the cause of her fall. She then looked up and saw that the yellow eyes were staring right into her. She tried to scramble up, but the eyes and mouth were floating over her.

"Hello, Luna." The bodiless monster lunged at Luna with fangs wide open. All Luna could do was scream.

"NO!" Luna shouted as she shot up in her bed. Luna began panting as sweat dripped from her brow. She looked around and saw that she was in her chambers once more. She immediately relaxed after realizing it was only a dream. She lay back down and stared at the night-patterned ceiling above her. Thoughts swam through her mind as she remembered the nightmare.

_That monster. How could it still exist in my mind? _Luna thought. The sheer implications of what her dream was about terrified her to her core.

_Now, now, Luna. It was just a bad dream. Go back to sleep and it'll be out of your mind in the morning._ The more reasonable side of her brain began to speak.

_I suppose so._ She thought, closing her eyes reluctantly. Soon, to her amazement, she began to doze off. One final thought crossed her mind before slipping into unconsciousness:_ But what if it was really him?_

-Changeling Hive-

Chrysalis looked over the drones that stood before her in her quarters with Raspian standing at her side. She knew that each were ready to do whatever it took to accomplish their mission, even if it meant self-sacrifice. The three changelings that stood in a line in front of their queen were at attention, not flinching a muscle as they waited for their orders. "Before we begin, what are your names?"

A scrawny changeling on Chrysalis's left was first to speak. Chrysalis noticed that he had a broken right fang.

"My name is Fang, your Majesty." The changeling said with a hiss, bowing before her. Chrysalis nodded and Fang took his previous stance.

The larger changeling in the middle stepped forward, puffing his chest out with a confident smile plastered on his face. On the outside, Chrysalis made no notice of his actions. _This one seems a bit overly confident._ She thought as the presumptuous changeling revealed his name.

"Your Highness, my name is Chassis. I am ready to serve in any way possible." He said, bowing low to the queen. Chrysalis nodded and motioned for Chassis to get in his former position. Chassis nodded and returned to where he was before.

The third changeling simply bowed to Chrysalis. This one had a different body frame than the other two. This changeling seemed to be slimmer didn't have any holes in the wings. _Ah, a female._ Chrysalis thought as the changeling said her name.

"My name is Cipha, your Excellency." She said, staying in her bowing position. Chrysalis gave Cipha a nod and allowed her to return to a standing position.

"Very well. Now that I know your names, I'll know who to reward for accomplishing this mission." Chrysalis said as she began to pace in front of them. "I've had my captain bring you here to discuss a plan that may save this hive from starvation." She said. The three changelings before her gave each other confused looks at hearing this.

"Sorry to interrupt, my lady, but did you just say that we won't be hungry anymore?" Fang asked as a hopeful look found its way onto his face.

"Not immediately, no. But in time and with the success of this mission, your hunger will become a thing of the past." Chrysalis said with a grin. The three changelings smiled at hearing this. "Now don't expect immediate results for your mission. What you do will be step one in the plan to eliminate this cursed famine."

"What task do you have for us to do, your Excellency?" Chassis asked, bowing again. Chrysalis rolled her eyes.

"First, resume your former standing position, Chassis." Chrysalis said in an almost scolding tone. Chassis shot back up to his hooves and stood at attention. "Now then, we shall begin." She said as her horn glowed green. Out of a wooden chest on the far side of the room, she levitated a rolled up scroll into their midst. She unrolled the scroll to reveal a map of Equestria.

"But my queen, didn't we try to take a city once before?" Cipha asked, raising an eyebrow.

A bitter memory of how the changelings lost Canterlot flashed in Chrysalis's head for a moment. "We tried and failed, yes. However, we are doing things more covertly this time." She said, pointing a holed hoof at a village on the map. "This is Ponyville. It is a small town with less than half the population size of Canterlot. Don't let its small and peaceful nature distract you, for it holds the key to our success." She said, looking up from the map.

"And what are we to do in this village?" Fang asked, raising a hoof in curiosity.

"You are to do what you do best. Disguise yourselves as three newcomers. Establish a connection to the populace, start a life there, but whatever you do, don't feed on anypony." Chrysalis said, her voice getting edgy on the latter half of the sentence.

"I thought you said this would take care of our hunger problem, Highness." Chassis protested.

Chrysalis put on an irritated look. "I wasn't talking about you three specifically, Chassis. You will get your love soon enough, but until then, don't feed on a single pony." She said sternly. Chassis tensed, not saying a word in reply.

"Now as I was saying." Chrysalis continued. "You three are to disguise yourselves as average ponies. Pesasi and earth ponies only. No unicorn disguises." She paused to see if the three changelings had anything to say.

Fang spoke up. "And may I ask why we should not be conceal ourselves as unicorns?"

Chrysalis grinned at Fang. "Because your mission is to find and bring me a unicorn." She said, earning some confused looks. "Not any normal unicorn, mind you. I want a unicorn that is skilled in using many varieties of magic. This is because that unicorn will be critical to how our hunger problem will be solved."

"How could one unicorn satisfy the hive? We'd need at least fifty ponies to satisfy half the hive itself." Cipha asked.

"I did not say we were going to feed off the unicorn." Chrysalis gave Cipha a stern look. "All you need to do is bring me a skilled unicorn in an unharmed condition. Is that clear?" She asked. All three changelings in front of her gave her a salute.

"And where do we deliver the unicorn? Back to the hive?" Cipha asked as she put her saluting hoof down.

"Tell them that there is an emergency that requires her magical powers. You are to take her to this mountain south of the Crystal Empire. There you will meet Captain Raspian and I disguised as earth ponies." Chrysalis said, pointing to the map again. This time, she pointed at one mountain in particular. The three changelings looked at the map, memorizing the location of the mountain.

"What do we do then?" Fang asked.

"The captain and I will show you where to go with the unicorn. Once you have done that, your mission is over. And then, you'll have your reward." Chrysalis said, causing smiles to break out onto the changelings' faces.

"We will go at once, your Majesty." Fang said, bowing to her. The other two followed suit and got on their knees before their queen. Chrysalis smiled at their devotion.

"Rise, my subjects. Now go and do your duty. Report back to me when you have established a base of operations in the town." Chrysalis said, pointing in the direction of the hive's entrance. The three changelings extended their wings and flew towards the tunnel that led to the cave opening.

Chrysalis looked on with pride, yet some doubt lingered. She then realized that she was risking everything on the three changelings she just sent out. "You sure they will accomplish their mission?" She asked Raspian.

Raspian looked his queen in the eye. "I have known those three for years. If anypony can do it, they can." Raspian responded in a confident voice.

Chrysalis accepted the answer and sat down on the cave floor, her head lost in thought.

"Thank you for your service today, Raspian. You are dismissed." Chrysalis said. Behind her, Raspian nodded.

"Very well, my queen. I shall be guarding your chambers outside." Raspian said, turning to leave, but Chrysalis's voice stopped him.

"No, Raspian. I don't need any guard duty tonight. You may go back to your alcove for the evening." She said, sounding despondent.

"Is everything alright, Highness?" Raspian asked, furrowing his eyebrows in concern.

"Yes, captain. Everything is fine. You are dismissed." Chrysalis said, still keeping her back to him.

"Yes, your Majesty." Raspian said, walking under the cave archway that opened up to her chambers to leave.

It's a good thing she never turned to face him, because Chrysalis couldn't bear to see his reaction if he saw her crying.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey Fanfiction! Man, this one took a long time. Just a fair warning to some of you, this chapter contains some material that might push the T rating of this story to a borderline M. There won't be many chapters like this in the story, but there will be in the future. Just warning you in advance, so if you don't like violent situations, skip the parts that begin and end with *. Hope you enjoy and tell me what you think!**

**Guardians of Light: A Shadow Forms**

**Chapter 5**

-Ponyville Library-

Twilight had been tossing and turning for hours. For whatever reason she couldn't sleep. _Maybe I'm just getting used to the wings_. Twilight thought as she pinched her eyes shut in frustration. With a groan, she opened her eyes and looked out the window that was next to her bed. The moon was high in the sky, the stars filled the night, ponies were sleeping, and everything was as it should be. _There is one problem, however._ She thought as she flopped on her back. _I can't sleep!_

Twilight rolled off her bed. _Maybe something to eat will help._ She thought as she tiptoed past Spike, trying not to awake the sleeping dragon. She noted that he was cutely sucking his thumb again. _And he said he hadn't done that in months._ She rolled her eyes and smiled weakly. She carefully trotted down the steps to the lower level of the library, careful not to make noise. After what felt like hours, she finally made it to the bottom of the stairs.

She walked down a circular tunnel that led from the main room of the library and headed towards the kitchen. She exited the wooden tunnel to find a small simple kitchen. Wooden floors, a small iron stove, a wicker wastebasket next to the stove, polished wood cupboards with food and ingredients scattered within, and a pile of chopped wood for a kettle fire in the corner opposite the stove. It was simple, but Twilight loved simple.

She opened one of the cupboards and looked at her choices. Oats? _Nah. Too plain. _Twilight thought as she kept looking. Some cupcakes from Pinkie? A loaf of bread? Some greens she'd bought from Carrot Top? _That much sugar is the last thing I need at this time of night. It's not very filling. And I'm not in the mood for vegetables. _Twilight thought as she browsed the food items in the cupboard. She eventually settled on one of the honeycrisp apples that Applejack had given her. She picked out the red fruit and closed the cupboard door.

She sat down on the floor and began eating. The apple's sweetness excited her taste buds as her teeth bit into the juicy flesh. After chewing for a few seconds, she swallowed the piece of fruit and began taking a second bite. Before she knew it, Twilight had reached the core of the apple. Twilight licked some of the apple's juice off the corners of her mouth as she tossed the apple core into the wastebasket. She smiled in satisfaction of her midnight snack and slowly began the trek back to her bed.

She walked down the tunnel to the main library and entered the main room. She turned to go back upstairs, but she suddenly heard something. It was faint, but Twilight could tell it was some sort of whisper. Curious, Twilight listened intently. _Come, Element of Magic. Come find us._ Her ears perked at this and looked around the room, trying to find the origin of the voice. The whisper continued chanting. _Come, Element of Magic. _She closed her eyes and focused. _The feel of the voice… it seemed to be coming from… that way._ Twilight thought as she opened her eyes and turned to the right. Facing her was a bookshelf. Multiple books of many colors and subjects were before her, but the voice was coming from one book in particular. She narrowed here eyes at the book. It was bright white with gold binding that shone in the darkness of the night.

She carefully took the book off the shelf and looked at the cover. Only a pearl embedded in the cover with gold surrounding it was on the cover. No title. No author. _Strange. I haven't looked at this book before._ Twilight thought as the whisper began to intensify. Twilight's eyes widened at the increased volume of the voices. _Come, Element of Magic! Come!_ The voice said as she put a hoof on the cover. As soon as her hoof made contact with the cover, the voice stopped. Twilight looked around nervously. Gulping, she opened the cover.

Interestingly, she only saw an illustration. No words or text were on the page. There was just a picture of a peaceful Ponyville. Ponies carried out their business while foals played. Twilight's eyebrow rose as she turned the page. It was an illustration of a cave entrance in the side of a mountain, snow blowing past it. _What could this mean?_ Twilight thought as she turned the page. What she saw surprised her. It was what looked like a living shadow held back by a bright blue force field. She couldn't get a definite shape of the shadow, but she could see the outline of a pony shrouded in black shadow. _Who is that?_ She asked as she turned the page, hoping it'd have an answer.

Twilight tried to scream at what she saw, but her voice failed her at what she saw. On a solid black page, two angry yellow eyes stared back at her from the page. Two yellow, remorseless, cold, soulless eyes stared at her. "Hello, Twilight." The voice said in a deep growl.

Pure fear gripped Twilight as the library faded from her vision. *A vision began to fade in as her eyesight cleared. She looked around her and was horrified at what she saw. Ponyville was in flames. All around her, panic filled the air. Ponies ran from strange and twisted creatures. Twilight couldn't tell exactly what they were, but all she could focus on was the death. Dead ponies littered the ground, their blood staining the grass red. A few ponies were burned from the fire, others had fresh slash wounds, some were decapitated, and even some had bite marks on their necks that caused them to bleed out in a slow and painful death. She watched helplessly as one of the creatures jumped onto an unfortunate unicorn mare. The mare screamed in terror as the creature sank its teeth into her neck, blood oozing from the wound. Looking away from the poor mare, Twilight tried to run to save Ponyville, but an unseen force stayed her hooves. To the left of her, town hall collapsed to the ground, leaving a pile of wood and rubble where the proud building once stood. She tried to look away from the death and destruction, but her eyes were glued to the scene. All she could do was watch and weep as hideous monsters slaughtered innocent ponies.*

-Sweet Apple Acres-

Applejack sighed in her bed. She hadn't been able to get a wink of sleep all night. She looked outside and saw the beautiful night sky that Luna had made. She smiled for a bit at the magnificent night. _Ah bet Ah'm the only pony in Ponyville that isn't sleeping right now._ She thought as she stared at the wooden ceiling of her room. After analyzing the complexity of the wood patterns above her for a good half hour, Applejack closed her eyes, trying to think happy thoughts to help her sleep. _Ah've got a great family. Granny is as thoughtful and helpful as always, Big Mac is reliable and always supports me, and Applebloom was always the cute and innocent little filly she is. _Applejack thought, her eyelids beginning to droop. _The apple business is boomin'. We're having more customers than ever now and a new apple tree expansion in the north orchard is beginning next week. That'll bring in even more money. Oh the renovations we can do with those bits._ She thought as she closed her eyes, feeling relaxed at the thought of everything going well. _Ah have everything I could ask for. A good family, a booming business, and five of the best friends a pony could want._ She thought, finally slipping into unconsciousness.

In the dreamscape, Applejack looked around her took note of where she was. She was outside her home at Sweet Apple Acres. The saw the apple trees full of fruit, the big red barn, and the farmhouse. While things seemed normal, there was something eerie about it all. Nopony was anywhere. Big Mac nor Applebloom were in the orchards and Granny Smith wasn't on her rocker outside the farmhouse like she usually was. Applejack's eyebrows furrowed as she began to investigate.

She walked through the farmhouse, checking each room. Nopony was found. "Applebloom? Big Mac? Granny? Is anypony home?" Applejack asked throughout the house as she visited each room. She received no answer. Becoming concerned, she galloped out of the house and into the orchards. "Big Mac! Applebloom! Anypony!" Applejack shouted in the orchard as she ran. All she heard was her voice echo for miles as nopony responded. She was beginning to get scared.

After running through the orchards, she finally came to the big red barn. *To her surprise, the doors were closed. _Strange, the doors are always open._ Sweat beaded her brow as she slowly opened one of the large doors. She was greeted with darkness. She tentatively walked into the darkness while every sense in her body screamed at her to go back. She ignored them. _Ah have to find mah family._ She thought as she entered the barn. The only light source was coming from outside, providing her some range of sight. That sight was cut short by a quick slamming of the door behind her, darkness enveloping her. Applejack jumped and turned around to see the door shut.

"Welcome, Applejack. Please turn around." A low voice said. A soft light glowed behind her as she began to slowly turn around. Her jaw dropped at what she saw.

By candlelight, there she saw her family, all with their hooves tied together and wads of cloth stuffed into their mouths. Multiple bruises and cuts could be seen on their bodies. Beside them were four ponies, well one pony and three hideous creatures. They were hideous mixes of creatures. One looked like a changeling with red eyes and two long sharpened bones sticking out of its sides under the wings. The second looked like a pony with half its face missing, only muscle and tissue remained. It had red eyes as well and small sharpened bones poking out of the front hooves. The third was a griffon with red eyes whose claws were twice as long as a normal griffons and it looked like its midsection had begun to rot. Finally, there was the one normal looking pony. He was steel gray with bright yellow eyes, a sharp horn on his head, an unkempt black mane and tail, and on his back were two large wings. On his flank was an image of a solar eclipse.

"Hello, Element of Honesty. Such a strange title for a pony who always lies." The grey pony said in a growl.  
"Ah've never lied in all mah life." Applejack said angrily as she got into a fighting stance. She noticed that the three creatures had begun to start circling her and her family.

"Again, a lie. Please tell me this isn't the best this generation can produce." The gray pony said in a disappointed tone.

"Why have you done this to mah family?" Applejack said, growing angrier. By now, the griffon had gotten behind her and the changeling and pony creatures had flanked her.

"To test you, Element of Honesty." The pony said, his horn glowing yellow. Applebloom's ropes disappeared from her legs and the rags vaporized in her mouth with a yellow flash.

Immediately, Applebloom was on her hooves. "Applejack, get out of here!" Applebloom yelled at her sister, but the gray pony grabbed Applebloom and held her in a headlock with his hooves.

"Don't you touch mah sister!" Applejack shouted, charging the gray pony. At this, the changeling and pony creatures tripped her front hooves. Applejack landed on the floor of the barn as they began to beat her. Their claws slashed at her face and body and she could feel her insides hurting after the blows they gave her. Minutes felt like hours as the two creatures beat and cut her. Eventually, the two let up on their assault and allowed Applejack to breathe.

"Tsk, tsk. Such violence, Applejack. I wouldn't make another move like that if I were you." The pony said, shaking Applebloom's head.

There she lay panting, bruised, bleeding, and beaten. Applejack lay on the ground, hoping for an end to this nightmare.

"Now, I want you to tell your dear sister, Applebloom, that everything is going to be alright. Lie, and she will stop hurting. Lie for your family." The pony said with a sick grin. Applejack looked into Applebloom's orange pleading eyes. "Do it, Applejack." The pony hissed, bearing fanged teeth.

Tears began to form in Applejack's eyes. "It's… It's going to be okay, Applebloom." Applejack said, getting each word out between choked sobs.

At this, the gray pony smiled darkly. "Beautiful." He said, grabbing Applebloom's muzzle and the back of her head. With a quick twist of his hooves and a loud and sickening _crick_, Applebloom's body fell to the floor.

"NO! APPLEBLO-!" Applejack began to shout, but didn't get the chance to finish. The griffon creature that had been behind her reached down with its claws and put them to the orange cowpony's throat. With a quick slash, Applejack began to feel the life ebb from her as red colored the straw beneath her. Darkness began to fade into her vision as her last sight was the gray pony smiling over her.*

-Fluttershy's Cottage-

Fluttershy sighed as she tried to sleep. _I'm probably the only creature in this town that is still awake._ She thought as she brushed her pink mane from her teal eyes. She looked down from her bed and saw a white rabbit snoozing peacefully at the foot of her bed on top of the green bed cover. _Angel's so cute when he's asleep._ Fluttershy thought as she observed her pet.

She looked up at her cottage's chiseled wood ceiling and closed her eyes, attempting to sleep again.

Still unsuccessful, Fluttershy began to think of ways to fall asleep. _What about that lullaby I tried to sing for Applebloom and her friends?_ She thought, remembering how well that went over after Sweetie Belle decided to join in the singing.

Smiling at the memory, Fluttershy began to play the song in her head.

_Hush now, quiet now. _

_It's time to lay your sleepy head._

_Hush now, quiet now. _

_It's time to go to bed._ Fluttershy thought as she slowly began to relax.

_Drifting off to sleep,_

_Exciting day behind you._

_Drifting off to sleep,_

_Let the joy of dream land find you. _Fluttershy was now on the verge of unconsciousness as her mind continued.

_Hush now, quiet now._

_Lay… your… sleepy-_ Fluttershy's mind shut down as she began to dream.

Fluttershy looked at the forest before her. Everything was as peaceful as it could be. Flat-tailed beavers made dams, multitudes of colorful birds chirped and flew amongst the trees, and cute forest critters like squirrels and rabbits scurried about on the ground. Fluttershy smiled and flew over to them.

"Hello, little friends. Having a good day are we?" Fluttershy asked. A squirrel that was cracking a nut nearby turned to the yellow pegasus and nodded happily. "How wonderful." Fluttershy said blissfully. She looked around her. Such beauty. Such innocence. She loved it, all of it. Ever since the day she discovered the ground as a filly, she'd loved the woods and the creatures in it.

*She continued walking through the peaceful woods when a strange scent hit her nostrils. She wrinkled her nose and furrowed her eyebrows at the smell. It smelled strong and pungent. She'd only smelled it one time before. _It smells like the time we had to get that sleeping dragon to move._ Her eyebrows rose at the revelation. _Smoke._

Fluttershy ran towards the smell's origin. Where there was smoke, there was fire. In a forest with so many creatures, she had to get as many critters out as possible. The smell was getting stronger as she approached the middle of the forest. She could now see wafts of smoke coming from over the top of a hill in front of her. She galloped up the hill and was shocked at what she saw.

The once green and luscious trees were now ablaze with bright orange flames. Squirrels ran from their holes in the trees, some of the unfortunate critters were squeaking wildly as fire burned their bodies as they fell. Birds tried to fly from the fire, but would run into burning tree branches. Some tried to fly through, but were set aflame as they passed through the blazes, tweeting loudly in agony. Deer and bears tried to run from the fire on the ground, some getting trampled as the faster creatures ran over them in desperation.

The scene of death brought tears to Fluttershy's eyes. _Help them! Help them you shy little filly! _A low voice in the back of her head mocked her. Fluttershy started to run towards the critters to help them, but didn't look up to see a large branch fall from one of the trees above her. The large branch landed on her back, pinning her to the ground. Fluttershy gave a cry of pain as her back was afire with pain. She tried to push the heavy branch off, but the tree limb was way too heavy for her to get out. A fleeing bear ran by her and Fluttershy saw her chance. "Mr. Bear, can you help me?" She shouted above the roar of the flames. The bear looked back at her, then at the fire that was engulfing the woods. The bear gave Fluttershy a mournful look and decided to run.

"No! Please don't leave me!" Fluttershy shouted, now desperately trying to get out from under the branch. She turned her focus towards the fire that was now approaching her, consuming everything in its path. Her eyes widened as she let out a shriek. Fluttershy turned back to the branch and pushed with all her might. Her efforts were in vain, however, as the fire was mere feet from her. She looked at the oncoming fire and could only scream.*

-Rainbow Dash's house-

"Ugh. Why can't I sleep?" Rainbow asked as she buried her face into her cloud pillow. She sighed into the pillow and turned onto her back to face the ceiling. A Wonderbolts recruitment poster was there to greet her as she looked up. She smiled for a second and then turned onto her side. Clouds were supposed to be the most comfortable things for pegasi to sleep on, yet they weren't helping Rainbow get to sleep.

_Okay. Maybe if I think happy thoughts, they'll help me sleep._ Rainbow thought, raising an eyebrow. She shrugged. _Worth a shot._ She thought, closing her magenta eyes.

Her mind scoured her memories, looking for good things to think about. Flight school? _The bullies didn't help that experience._ Thought Rainbow as her mind continued looking. The first time she flew? The day she got her cutie mark? How she met Gilda? All were good times, but they were temporary happy times. What was one happy thing she encountered on a day-to-day basis? Then it hit her. _My friends!_ She thought with a smile.

Rainbow thought of the random Pinkie Pie and all the pranks they pulled together. She thought of Twilight and all the adventures they'd had over the past few years. Applejack came to mind when she remembered all the times Rainbow had helped her in the apple orchards. She thought of Fluttershy and how the shy pegasus stood up for her at the Young Fliers Competition. And last but not least, she thought of Rarity and the generous things she'd done for Rainbow.

The thoughts of her friends brought a smile to her face as Rainbow began to feel herself slipping from consciousness. They were her friends and they always would be, and she would always be loyal to her friends. _What would I do without them? _Rainbow thought as she drifted off to sleep.

Rainbow looked around her. _Ponyville?_ She thought as she saw familiar buildings like Town Hall's spire above the roofs of houses, Sugarcube Corner, and Twilight's library. The sky was a clear blue, not a cloud in the sky. Normally, Ponyville would be bustling with activity on a day like this. However, nopony seemed to be anywhere in the streets. Rainbow trotted along the dirt roads, searching for signs of life. The _clip_ and _clop_ of her hooves were the only sounds she heard throughout the town.

"Hello? Is anypony out there?" Rainbow shouted, her voice echoing through the streets.

_Hello, Rainbow Dash._ A low voice in the back of her head sounded. Rainbow was instantly alert, getting into a defensive position.

"Who are you?" She asked in a brave voice.

The voice gave a light chuckle. _That is a question I can no longer give a single answer to. Just call me Morning Star._ The voice responded.

"Morning Star, huh? Where are you?" Rainbow asked, relaxing a little.

_Here and there. Does it matter?_ Morning Star answered.

"Actually it does. I can't find anypony out here." Rainbow said, turning her head to find anypony else in the town.

_I can show you where some ponies are. In fact, you know them very well._ Morning responded.

Rainbow's ears perked up at this. "My friends? Can you show me where they are?" She asked, a smile spreading on her face.

_Of course I can._ Morning said warmly. _Just go to the center of town. You'll find them in front of Town Hall._

"Thanks, Morning. You know, for a weird voice in my head, you aren't so bad." Rainbow said, extending her wings and shooting into the air. Rainbow flapped her wings as she flew in the direction of Town Hall.

_No need to thank me, Rainbow. However this favor I have done you warrants one from yourself._ Morning said in her head.

"Anything you want, just gimme the word." Rainbow said, speeding off to Town Hall.

Rainbow soon found herself in the airspace of the largest building in Ponyville, Town Hall. The large circular building was a guiding point for all residents to see. If somepony were lost, they'd be directed where to go in relation to Town Hall. She began descending, flapping her wings at a slower rate. She began to see five ponies in front of the hall, but something about them was not right. As she got closer, she felt her stomach retch at what she saw.

*It was her five friends. She could easily identify them. Her friends, the most lovable and caring ponies she knew, were dead. Twilight and Applejack had deep cuts on their throats while Rarity, Pinkie, and Fluttershy had bruises and cuts all over their bodies, blood trickling out of their open mouths.

"No… no, no, no, no, no!" Rainbow cried as she landed on the ground. She rushed to the bodies, trying to find any way to bring them back. Sadly, they were far past any hope of living. Tears stung her eyes as she knelt next to them and began to weep. All the memories, all the happy times, all that could have been, were now gone.

"Why would you show me this?!" Rainbow shouted as she looked up at the sky, now starting to darken as gray clouds covered the blue expanse.

_To show what happens when you're disloyal. _Morning Star's voice said again.

"Disloyal? I never did a thing against them and now they're dead! What did I do to be disloyal?" Rainbow shouted angrily. Rain was beginning to drop, soaking Rainbow and the bodies of her friends.

_I believe you said, 'Anything I wanted'. You split your loyalties, Rainbow Dash. You were loyal to me instead of your friends. They paid the price for your mistake._ Morning said cruelly.

"What mistake? Being loyal?" Rainbow asked, now on the verge of sobbing again. Amidst the _pitter _and _patter_ of the rain, Rainbow heard hoofsteps behind her. She turned to see a large gray stallion. He had a sharp horn, large wings, an iron gauntlet on his right hoof, a cutie mark that showed a solar eclipse, and an unkempt black mane and tail. However, what stood out were his eyes. His bright yellow eyes stared at her menacingly.

"Exactly. Being loyal to another over the ones you were originally loyal to is the very definition of betrayal." The stallion said in Morning Star's voice.

"Morning Star?" Rainbow asked in a whisper. Morning Star smiled darkly.

"Yes, Rainbow Dash. And now that you have seen the fruits of your disloyalty, it'll be the last thing you see." Morning said, thrusting his right hoof out. A blood stained sword blade shot out from a rectangular hole in the gauntlet's hoof. Grinning, Morning Star charged.

Rainbow Dash only had time for a short shriek before Morning's blade entered her chest. Withdrawing the blade from her, Morning stepped back and watched as Rainbow collapsed next to her friends, her hooves trying to cover the wound. Rainbow looked at her dead friends as the life began to leave her. Cold enveloped her body as black faded into her vision.*

-Sugarcube Corner-

Pinkie lay on her bed, exhausted from all the day's activities. _That coronation today was superfunnerific! I just wish that it had lasted longer._ Pinkie thought as she pulled the covers over her pink body. She closed her blue eyes, thinking about her friends, Twilight specifically. _I wonder if anything's going to change now that she's a princess. I hope something doesn't! I don't want her to forget about us in the middle of all her new royal duties!_ Pinkie thought, growing a bit worried at the thought of Twilight not spending time with her friends because of her new position.

"Now, now, me. Twilight's not going to forget us." Pinkie assured herself. "Now that she's a princess, she'll be busy, but still be our friend."

_But still! What if Twilight is called away to Canterlot on royal business? What if she stays there because she likes it more than Ponyville? And what if in the middle of all her work she forgets us and never comes back? _Pinkie's mind said worriedly.

"I know Twilight better than that. She won't forget us. And hey, instead of trying to worry me, why don't you think about cake?" Pinkie asked her mind.

_But what if-? Hey have you noticed that chocolate cake tastes even better with vanilla frosting?_ Pinkie's mind asked.

"I know. Kinda weird, isn't it?" Pinkie asked, feeling sleep taking over.

_Yeah! Chocolate by itself is yummy and vanilla on its own tastes terrific, but combined they make something yummyrific!_ Her mind said excitedly.

"Hey, brain? Could I go to sleep now?" Pinkie asked.

_Oh sure. Goodnight, me!_ Pinkie's mind thought as she began to sleep.

Pinkie's eyes opened to behold the dreamscape. What she found concerned her. It was just a white room. White floors, white walls, white everything. And it just kept going forever. Pinkie raised an eyebrow in confusion. Normally her dreams had much more activity in them.

"Well this is boring." She said as she began to walk around the empty dreamscape. _Maybe I'll find somepony in here. Maybe we can have some fun together when I find them!_ Pinkie smiled at the thought and continued walking.

Two hours. That's how long it took for Pinkie to give up. "Ugh! This is so boring with nopony to do anything with!" She said, sitting down and huffing in frustration.

"Exactly. Nopony but you and me." A faint voice said behind Pinkie. Pinkie's ears perked at this. The voice sounded sad, as if the voice's owner had never experienced fun in their lifetime.

Pinkie smiled. "Oh goodie! Somepony to do something with! What should we-?" Pinkie began to ask, but didn't finish her question at what she saw. It was her, only it wasn't. Instead of a poofy pink mane and tail, this pony's pink hair fell straight. Instead of life and fun in her eyes, they seemed dead and sad. _How can that be? The last time there was more than one of me, things didn't go too well._

"I saw how that incident happened. The town wasn't happy to see that many yous." The sad Pinkie said.

"You knew about that?" Pinkie asked the sadder version of herself. At this, the sad Pinkie gave a dark grin.

"I know everything you know, Pinkie. I've always been here." Sad Pinkie said.

"But how? Unless you've been following me everywhere, I don't know how you'd know what I knew." Pinkie asked, now getting concerned.

"I never have had to follow you. I've always been with you." Sad Pinkie said, frowning. "Do you really think they care about you?"

"Who? My friends?" Pinkie asked, raising an eyebrow. Sad Pinkie cringed at the word 'friends'.

"Yes! Those ponies you dare give that title. They've lied to you, tried to avoid you, and don't even listen to you when there's a present danger!" Sad Pinkie shouted. Pinkie took a few steps back from the yelling pony. Sad Pinkie took a few steps towards her.

"But they're my friends. They've always been there for me and they listen to my problems-" Pinkie said, trying to find a way to get away from the scary pony.

"Listened to you? Please. Remember when you asked Twilight for advice on how to deal with Gilda?" Sad Pinkie asked, giving the normal Pinkie a minute to think. "She didn't care! She said you were the problem and brushed you off!"

"But that was one time!" Pinkie shouted back. "Besides Twilight is a great friend and-"

"What about Applejack, the so-called Element of Honesty? Remember on your birthday a couple years ago when she flat-out lied to you multiple times?" Sad Pinkie asked, slowly walking closer to Pinkie.

"But I needed to hear that. I would have ruined the surprise party she and the girls threw for me." Pinkie retorted, getting mad with this pony for saying nasty things about her friends.

"And Rainbow Dash? The Element of Loyalty has tried to avoid you so many times it's unbelievable! Some loyal friend." Sad Pinkie scoffed.

At this, Pinkie ran up to the Sad Pinkie and looked her in the eye. "My friends may not be perfect, but they are a hundred times better than how you're being right now!" She said through gritted teeth.

Sad Pinkie smiled. "You mean how you're being?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

This confused pinkie as she backed off a little. "What do you mean?"

"Don't you get it? We're the same, you and I. I grew up on a rock farm, you grew up on a rock farm. I moved to Ponyville to leave my past and start a new life, so did you. The fact is, Pinkie, you can't run from your past." Sad Pinkie said. Pinkie's eyes widened at her words.

"You aren't-." Pinkie said, but Sad Pinkie stopped her.  
"We're the same, Pinkie." Sad Pinkie said with a smile and looked Pinkie in the eye. "I am you and you are me." She said slowly, each word dripping with venom.

*Pinkie started walking backwards from Sad Pinkie again, but Sad Pinkie ran up to her and tackled her to the ground of the dreamscape. Sad Pinkie's eyes faded from a baby blue to a bright yellow. With a flash of yellow light, metal straps strapped Pinkie's limbs down to the floor.

"You know, all this whiteness is boring me. Let's give this place some color." She said, reaching behind her and took out a carving knife. "I think some red is just what this place needs." Sad Pinkie said with a toothy smile.

Pinkie began to scream but got a hoof shoved into her mouth. "Ah, ah, ah. We don't want to make too much noise or the party might be spoiled." Sad Pinkie said, gently dragging the knife's edge along Pinkie's right arm. Pain erupted where the knife's edge met as blood began to drip from the cut. Pinkie yelped in pain, only to be muffled by the hoof in her mouth.

"And now for some more color. Time for a second coating." Sad Pinkie said, taking the knife and stabbing it into Pinkie's exposed belly. Pinkie's eyes widened at the sudden intrusion as pain exploded in her torso. The floor under Pinkie began to be tainted red by the blood that flowed from her wounds. More muffled shouts of pain resulted as Sad Pinkie's face twisted in sick glee.

"And now for the final splash of color!" Sad Pinkie shouted as she took the knife out of Pinkie's belly and put the edge to Pinkie's throat. "And this is how you end a masterpiece." She whispered in Pinkie's ear as she swiped the blade across Pinkie's neck.

Pinkie's vision faded to black as the life bled out of her, the image of a smiling evil Pinkie standing over her with the bloody knife.*

-Carousel Boutique-

"Oh of all the nights to not get some beauty sleep, it had to be tonight." Rarity said, exasperated with the lack of sleep she was getting. The white unicorn sprawled across her bed, her purple mane a tangled mess atop her head. She sighed and turned on her side as she tried to get comfortable.

_Come on, Rarity. You had an exhausting past few days and you need your sleep!_ Rarity thought to herself. She thought over the events in the past few days. Rarity had gotten her cutie mark switched on accident, used her element on Twilight to help make her into an alicorn, made dresses for the coronation that occurred a couple days later, watched as Twilight was crowned a princess, and participated in the coronation parade that followed. Rarity's body was tired, but her mind wasn't letting her rest.

Rarity gritted her teeth in frustration and opened her bloodshot eyes to stare angrily at the wall next to her bed. _Maybe I just need something to help me sleep. Maybe I need some pills or something._ Rarity thought as she kicked her rear hooves over the edge of the bed. She slid off her bed and began walking to her kitchen downstairs. Too exhausted to use her magic, she manually turned the door handle that led to the stairs. The wooden door opened with a pull as Rarity stepped through the doorway and began the trek to the kitchen. The steps creaked as each hoof pressed on them. _I need to get that fixed at some point._ Rarity thought as she approached the bottom of the staircase.

She looked around at her kitchen. The circular table was in the corner, a stove and oven on the opposite side of the room. Above the stove and oven were cupboards of food and spices. The memory of seeing Sweetie Belle try to make breakfast for her flashed in her mind. Rarity gave a tired smile at the memory and walked to the cupboards.

Rarity pulled one of the cupboard doors open, revealing a collection of pill containers and sheets of dissolvable medicinal tablets. _Hmm… where is that Hayquil bottle? _She thought as she browsed the cupboard. She soon came across a purple liquid container with a cylindrical cap. _Got it!_ Rarity grabbed the Hayquil and closed the cupboard door. Her horn glowed a soft blue as the cap screwed off, opening the container. She walked over to the table and set down the bottle. Grabbing the cap on one hoof and taking hold of the bottle in her mouth, Rarity poured the purple sleep aid into the cap. She put the bottle down on the table and used her magic to levitate the cap to her mouth. With a quick gulp, she swallowed the Hayquil and screwed the cap back onto the container.

_I'll put it back in the morning._ Rarity thought with a yawn. She set the container back on the table and walked back towards the stairs. She began to climb back up the stairs but became extremely drowsy halfway up the stairs. _That was fast._ She felt like she was going to collapse as she neared the top. After what felt like an hour, Rarity reached the floor of her bedroom.

"Okay. Now to get into my bed and…go…to-" Rarity said, but dropped onto the floor. She gave no resistance to the sleep that her mind was going into.

Rarity opened her eyes and beheld one of the greatest spectacles she'd ever seen. Below a clear blue sky, there were gems. Gems everywhere. Bright red rubies, bold blue saphires, shimmering green emeralds, see-through diamonds, and many more invaluable treasures were everywhere. Mountains of them lay before her as she stared in awe.

"So… many." Rarity said, gawking at the piles of treasures. "And all mine!" Rarity shouted with glee as she dove into a mountain of emeralds and amethysts. The feeling of all the valuable rocks gave her a feeling of bliss as she swam through the gems. She breached the surface of the gems, sending the priceless rocks flying in all directions. She clutched a few random amethysts and looked at them, analyzing their texture, shape, and the beauty of the purple riches.

"All mine! All…mine." Rarity said, her excitement dwindling as she realized that there was nopony else in the dreamscape. There were all these jewels and nopony else to be around. Gems were nice, but Rarity began to feel the need for someone else in the dream. _I wish somepony else were here to share in my joy._ Rarity thought, looking at the rubies in her hooves.

_Oh but there is, my dear Rarity._ A low voice said in the back of her mind. Rarity stiffened at the alien voice.

"Where are you? Or more importantly, who are you?" Rarity asked, raising an eyebrow.

_I can be your greatest desire, Rarity. As for where I am, let's just say that I don't stay in one place for too long. I could be here in your dream one minute, and in the streets of Manehattan the next._ The voice said. This answer confused Rarity as she looked around.

"Well thank you for that vague answer, gentlecolt. However, I do not have need for such obscurity." Rarity said in a posh tone. "You said there was another in this dream with me?"

_Yes. He is one that is very close to you. He will be found beyond that ruby mountain to your left._ The voice said, causing Rarity to look to her left. There she saw a large mound of red rubies.

"Thank you, kind sir. Now if you don't mind, I'll be off in search of this fellow dream dweller. By the way, you said that he was very close. What did you mean by that?" Rarity asked, trotting down the hill of emeralds and amethysts.

_He is one that is of the same mind as you. In fact, you could say that you two are… intertwined._ The voice responded.

_Fine, be vague. _Rarity thought as she knit her eyebrows together at the voice's answer.

After walking over gems for a few minutes, Rarity reached the ruby hill. She looked closely at the rubies and noticed that they weren't ordinary rubies. _Fire rubies._ Rarity thought, grabbing one of the heart-shaped rocks.

A loud roar that sent shivers down Rarity's spine sounded from behind the hill. Slowly, Rarity began to move behind the hill to see what caused the roar. She stepped carefully on the gems beneath her, hoping not to cause too much noise. After what seemed like a couple hours, she rounded the mountain. Her pupils shrunk at what she saw.

She saw a large purple dragon with lime green spines and a matching underbelly had its back turned to her. The large beast was snacking on gems by the handful, taking chunks out of the mountains and gobbling them up. She'd seen this monster once before.

"Spike?" Rarity whispered in surprise. The large dragon stopped chewing on the gems in its mouth and whipped its head in her direction. Rarity saw that he looked exactly the same as when he'd been corrupted by greed and turned into a monster, destroying half of Ponyville in the process. There was one difference, however. His eyes, instead of their green color, were bright yellow.

Spike let out a puff of black smoke from his nostrils as he narrowed his eyes at the small white unicorn below him. "What do you want?" Spike bellowed in a deep voice.

Rarity was taken aback by his greeting. "Spike! Don't you remember me? It's me, Rarity!" she shouted at the dragon, hoping he'd not see her as a threat.

"R-Rarity?" Spike asked, holding his head as though he was trying to remember.

Hope surged through Rarity. "Yes! You do remember me!" She exclaimed with joy.

"Yes. I remember. I remember how much you love gems." Spike's said, his voice taking on a dangerous tone.

Rarity's blood went cold. "No! I mean, I do love gems, but do you remember anything else?" She asked with begging eyes.

"Don't need to. I remember all the times you turned me down, used me as a doormat, and never thanked me for any of the work I did for you!" Spike shouted at her. Rarity was now deathly scared of the dragon that stood before her.

She stammered to come up with a retort to his accusations. "Well, I… but-"

"Some Element of Generosity. Too concerned with her own needs to remember all the work her friends have done for her." Spike said cruelly.

Rarity now had tears in her eyes. "But Spike, I do care about you and remember all the things you have done!"

"Then why have you waited until now to tell me?" Spike asked, folding his arms. "You probably just want to soften me up to take these delectable little treasures. Well you can't have them! I was told that they are for me alone." Spike said, his yellow eyes turning to the mountain of gems next to him.

Rarity took a couple steps back from the dragon. "No! I'd never do such a thing!"

"Another lie to confuse me." Spike said dismissively. "Well you're not getting these jewels. Come to think of it, it'd be easier to be rid of you right here." Spike said in a dark tone.

*Her heart skipped a beat as he said that. He wasn't just mad at her. He was going to kill her. "Spike! I am sorry for the way I've been treating you! I have been so caught up with my own success that I forget to thank you for all you do for me!"

"Too late, my dear. I've had it with you and your deceit." Spike said, extending an open hand towards the unicorn. Rarity didn't have time to turn and run before a giant scaled hand grabbed her and pulled her up to Spike's eye level. Rarity shrieked as she looked into his eyes.

"And to think I had feelings for you." Spike said coldly, looking up and opening his jaws while dangling her by the tail. Rarity was screaming and crying for mercy, but to no avail. She felt as the claw released her tail. She fell wailing into the black gullet, the darkness of Spike's mouth consuming her vision.*

-Ponyville Library-

Spike was curled up in his basket bed. He was in a comfy position, but just wasn't going to sleep. He sighed and opened his green eyes to stare at the ceiling for a few minutes. He should be sleeping, but he wasn't. He tried to think of ways to fall asleep. Some milk? _Nah I'd make too much noise and wake up Twilight. She needs her rest._ Spike thought as his mind continued to think of was to slumber.

Eventually, his mind settled on one method. _Well, I haven't done that in months, but it does relax me._ Spike thought as he brought his thumb up to his mouth and began sucking. He felt like such a baby, but his thumb-sucking was doing the trick. He slowly began to feel his mind slip when a small creaking sound caused him to crack open his eyes. Spike saw Twilight slowly descending the staircase.

_She's probably doing one of her late night readings again._ Spike thought as he closed his eyes again. This time, he fell asleep with ease.

Spike looked around the dream and saw heaven. Everywhere he saw, gems were stacked everywhere in mountains as far as the eye could see. Heck, even the ground was made of jewels. He started drooling on the spot as he slowly walked over to a mountain of sapphires. He approached the big blue mountain in an almost trance-like fashion, his eyes swimming with hunger. A big smile spread across his face.

"Woohoo!" Spike shouted, diving head first into the mountain, consuming every gemstone in his path. The tanginess of the sapphires excited his taste buds as he devoured the blue rocks. _All these gems, and they're all mine! I could feast on these for the rest of my life!_ Spike thought as he leapt out of the mountain, sapphire pieces covering his chin and around his mouth.

"Yes, Spike. They are all yours."A deep voice said from behind Spike.

Spike's smile faded as he turned around to face the one who spoke to him. What he saw was a massive stallion standing in front of him. The stallion had gray fur, a black mane and tail, a solar eclipse cutie mark, a metal gauntlet on his right hoof, a horn, and two large wings. The stallion's bright yellow eyes unsettled Spike, however.

"Who are you?" Spike asked, raising an eyebrow.

The stallion gave a low chuckle. "If only I had a bit for every time somepony has asked that. I have no single name, my dear dragon. But you may call me Shimmering Jewel."

"Nice to meet you, Jewel. But I have one question." Spike said.

Shimmering Jewel grinned. "Just one?" he said jokingly.

"What is this place?" Spike asked, looking around at the glistening gem hills that surrounded them.

"It is your paradise, Spike. All these gems are for you and you alone." Shimmering said, his irises glowing yellow as they looked into Spike's green eyes. The green in Spike's eyes began to fade and was soon replaced by the same hue of yellow as Shimmering's.

"All mine, huh?" Spike asked, greedily staring at the mounds of gems.

"Yes, Spike. All yours. Now go have some fun." Shimmering said with a warm smile.

"Thank you, Jewel." Spike said, sprinting towards another mountain of gems.

"No, Spike. Thank _you_." Shimmering said, disappearing in a yellow flash.

Spike devoured every gem he could see. He loved this feeling. The feeling of having everything to himself. These were his treasures. Nopony else could have them. He wouldn't let them have the chance to steal his jewels! Spike soon felt himself growing larger. His spines sharpened, his muscles grew, and he began to grow. He didn't care though. He was too busy attending to his treasure. In celebration of his treasure, he let out a loud roar. All these jewels were his. Nopony could have them.

While he was busy munching on some amethysts when he heard a demure voice behind him.

"Spike?" Spike's head turned to see a small white unicorn with a curled purple mane and tail. _Rarity?_ Spike thought.

"What do you want?" he asked the small pony.

"Spike! Don't you remember me? It's me, Rarity!" she responded.

"Rarity?" Spike asked. As soon as the name left his mouth, Spike felt his conscience get shoved back into the back of his mind. It was his body, but he wasn't in control anymore.

_Wait, what is this?_ Spike thought as Rarity replied. "Yes! You do remember me!

"Yes. I remember you. I remember how much you love gems. Spike said in a dark tone. _What?! No! That's not what I'd say! What's going on here? _Spike's mind was frantic as he tried to regain control of his body.

"No! I mean, I do love gems, but do you remember anything else?" Rarity asked in a pleading tone.

"Don't need to. I remember all the times you turned me down, used me as a doormat, and never thanked me for any of the work I did for you!" Spike shouted. _NO! That's not what I'd say! Give me back my body!_ Spike shouted internally as he fought for control, straining his mind to stop himself.

He heard Rarity try to mumble something to defend herself, but Spike kept at it. "Some Element of Generosity. Too concerned with her own needs to remember all the work her friends have done for her." Spike saw how this brought tears to Rarity's eyes. Now he was mad. _When I get this body back, I'm going to make sure you don't get back in!_ Spike yelled at the force that controlled his body.

"But Spike, I do care about you and remember all the things you have done!" Rarity cried. _I know you do, Rarity! I want to say it back to you! Give me just that, you stupid body!_ He shouted at himself mentally.

"Then why have you waited until now to tell me?" Spike retorted. At this, Spike stopped fighting. _He does have a point. Wait! No! I won't let you hurt her! Let me back in! _Spike thought, resuming his fight for control. "You probably just want to soften me up to take these delectable little treasures. Well you can't have them! I was told that they are for me alone." Spike said, turning his yellow eyes to the mountain of gems next to him.

"No! I'd never do such a thing!" Rarity shouted back. _She's the Element of Generosity for pony's sake! Why would she?_ Spike thought.

*"Another lie to confuse me." Spike said apathetically. "Well you're not getting these jewels. Come to think of it, it'd be easier to be rid of you right here." At this, Spike's conscience froze. _NOOO! You wouldn't dare! You wouldn't do it, you monster!_ He shouted internally.

Rarity was close to sobbing at this point. "Spike! I am sorry for the way I've been treating you! I have been so caught up with my own success that I forget to thank you for all you do for me!"

"Too late, my dear. I've had it with you and your deceit." Spike said, reaching out to grab her. _Don't you dare hurt her! Don't you dare, you son of a mule!_ Spike shouted at himself, trying even harder now to regain his body. Spike felt Rarity's fur in his hand as he grabbed her and pulled her up to eye level. Rarity looked into Spike's yellow eyes and shrieked.

"And to think I had feelings for you." Spike said coldly as he looked up, opened his jaws and held the screaming unicorn by the tail. _Rarity! NO!_ Spike thought as he felt his hand release her. Spike's conscience went blind with rage as he felt her go down his throat.

As soon as she disappeared into his belly, Spike got his body back. _That wasn't me. That couldn't have been. _He had just killed her. Out of greed, he had just killed the only mare he had felt love for. Tears came to Spike's eyes as they reverted from yellow back to green. Spike looked up at the sky. Instead of crisp blue, it was now gray with clouds.

"AAAAAUUGHHH!" Spike roared at the sky as rain began to pour. "Where are you, Shimmering? Where are you, you lying piece of manure?!"

"No need to shout, Spike. I'm right here." Shimmering's voice said to the right of Spike. He turned to see the gray pony sitting atop one of the gem mounds.

"Why did you do it?" Spike asked, his mind numb with rage and his eyes stung with tears.

"To show the price of greed, my dear dragon." Shimmering said with a smile. "And now that you have seen what happens when greed comes to fruition, you have my permission to die." Shimmering said, extending his right hoof, causing a blade to spring from the gauntlet. Spike didn't have time to react before Shimmering shot in front of him and drove the blade between his eyes. As soon as the blade pierced his scales, Spike's vision went black.*


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey Fanfiction! Sorry if this one took a little longer than my other updates. I've been getting some rest from working and I slacked off on my writing a little bit. Thankfully, I'll be producing more chapters more frequently in the coming weeks. Hope you guys like it and tell me what you think!**

**Guardians of Light: A Shadow Forms**

**Chapter 6**

-Ponyville Library-

"AHH!" Spike shouted as his eyes shot open. Sweat beaded his brow and his breath came in short pants. Spike trembled as he sat up in his basket bed. _What kind of nightmare was that?_ He thought as he shook his head. He looked around him to see that he was still in the upper level bedroom of the library. A quick look out the window confirmed that it was morning as Celestia's sun was high in the sky by now. He sighed in relief and lay back down. He stared at the ceiling as he tried to contemplate the terror he had experienced in his sleep. _What did it mean? Was it some sort of test? To prove how greedy I could get? Wait, what? No! That was not me! _Spike shouted internally. _I mean, it was me. But it wasn't. So what does that-?_

"Gah!" Spike shouted in exasperation. Spike clutched his head with his clawed hands and shook it. Whatever that dream had meant, he was unsure of.

_Wow. Is Twilight still asleep?_ Spike thought, noticing a lack of reaction from the new alicorn at his outburst. He looked up from his bed and noticed that she was still out of bed. The covers were wrinkled as if she had just gotten out of them, but no Twilight was present. _She did go downstairs last night. Maybe she just dozed off or something while reading._ He thought, getting out of his bed with half-lidded eyes. He walked sleepily over to the stairs to go to the lower level of the library to see if Twilight was there.

While descending the wooden staircase, Spike noticed Twilight lying on the ground with a white book open in front of her. _Wow. She must have been really knocked out to just be sleeping on the floor like that._ He thought as he carefully tiptoed down the stairs, trying not to make a loud sound.

He looked over Twilight as he stepped down the stairs. Her back was turned to him and she was lying on her left side, the wing on the respective side splayed out on the ground while the other one was hanging limply off the side of her body. Her deep purple mane and tail were a mess, strands flying off in all directions and the usually clean-cut mane was a tangled array of purple and pink hair.

Spike finally reached the bottom of the staircase and walked over to his alicorn guardian. _Well I guess I should see if she's okay. _Spike thought as he gently tapped her shoulder, trying to wake her up. Twilight didn't stir. Spike's eyebrows rose. Normally she was a very light sleeper. Descending that staircase without waking her was something Spike considered to be a miracle. Spike rubbed the same shoulder, still attempting to wake Twilight.

"Hey, Twilight. You alright?" Spike asked in a whisper. He put an ear close to her to try to hear if she had a reaction. All he heard was breathing. Spike began to get concerned.

"Twilight? You okay?" Spike asked more loudly this time. Still no response. "Come on, Twilight. There's no way you're this heavy a-" Spike paused at hearing Twilight mumble something incoherent.

"What? What was that, Twilight?" Spike asked, hope filling his voice. _At least she's not dead._ Spike joked.

"No. No, no, no. No." Twilight said quietly, sounding scared. Concern found its way into Spike's mind once more.

"No about what?" Spike asked. "No more seven hour bubble baths? I can stop doing those, I swear I won't do it anymore." He said, folding his hands together.

"Stop it. Just stop it." Twilight said in a whisper, her head turning slightly towards Spike, but not giving Spike enough to see her face.

"Okay, okay. I'll stop with the seven hour bubble baths. I'll cut them back two hours. Does that sound good?" Spike asked, happy it was something as trivial as his bubble bath routine that was causing the trouble.

"No. Stop, please." Twilight mumbled.

"Just stop the baths completely? Is that what you want me to do?" Spike asked, getting confused at his guardian's request.

"What do you want?" Twilight asked, her wings twitching while she spoke.

"What do I want?" Spike said in a questioning tone. _Well a lot of things. Having a gem stash for only myself to eat is a good start, but that's beside the point. _He thought as he put his hand on Twilight's shoulder to turn her to face him. "What are you talking about, Twili- WHAT THE HAY HAPPENED TO YOU?" Spike shouted in alarm.

Twilight's eyes were bloodshot, tears streaming from them and staining the lavender fur beneath them. Clearly she was upset about something, but what it was. Spike didn't know. What terrified Spike wasn't that she was sad, but it was her eyes. Instead of their usual purple, they were bright yellow.

-Sweet Apple Acres-

"NO!" Applejack shouted as she shot up from her bed. Sweat stained the sheets on her bed where her back was, drops of the same liquid dotted her forehead. Hyperventilating, the orange cowpony swiveled her head to get a sense of her surroundings. She was back in her bedroom. Seeing that she was safe and sound under her covers and the sun out her window warmly welcoming her to a new day, Applejack gave a relieved sigh.

Applejack clutched her throat. There was no cut. _What was that? _She thought as her memory was flooded with the nightmare she experienced the night before. _It felt so real._ She thought as she surveyed the rest of her body. No cuts and bruises were to be found either. _What were those things? Why did they have mah family tied up?_ Applejack's head swam with questions, some of which she feared the answer to. Soon, the image of the gray pony came back to her mind. She shuddered in fear at the memory of that pony. There wasn't anything natural about that thing. _He couldn't have been a pony. He was too evil to be considered to be one of us._ Applejack thought angrily. _What he did to mah family in that dream… nopony that does that sort of thing isn't worthy of mercy. What he did to Applebloom- Applebloom!_

Fear gripped her heart as Applejack jumped out of bed. _She has to be okay! She just has to!_ Applejack's mind screamed as yanked her bedroom door open and rushed into the hallway. She didn't have time to react before slamming into somepony that happened to be trotting down the hall, a certain yellow pony with a red mane and a hot pink bow in her mane.

"Applebloom! You're okay!" Applejack cried with glee as she embraced her sister. Applebloom rose an eyebrow as she got pulled into a big hug.

"Good mornin' to you too, sis." Applebloom said warmly, then squirmed out of the hug. "Why wouldn't Ah be okay?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Ah just had the worst dream. But it's okay now, though." Applejack said, smiling at the yellow filly.

"Well great! I've got a Crusaders meetin' to go to and I just wanted to say good mornin' before Ah took off." Applebloom said, turning her back to Applejack and began trotting down the hallway towards the stairs that led to the atrium of the farmhouse.

"Well see ya, Applebloom! Applejack hollered back in a cheerful tone.

"Bye, sis!" The little yellow filly shouted back gleefully as she bounded down the stairs, her hot pink bow the last thing Applejack saw before she disappeared down the stairs.

Applejack's smile faded as she saw her sister go from her view. "Be safe." She said in a whisper as memories of her dream came back to her.

-Sugarcube Corner-

Pinkie's eyes shot open, her mind trying to recover from the shock she just experienced. Her breath came and went in short pants and her bright blue life-filled eyes were bloodshot and showed an inner sorrow. _What was that? That wasn't me, but it was. But how could that have been me if I was the one doing those things to myself?_ Her mind rapid-fired the questions as Pinkie failed to have a definitive answer to them. She looked around her surroundings to find that she was in her room in the attic of Sugarcube Corner.

One chilling quote kept calling out to her from the dream. _"I am you, and you are me." _The voice would say tauntingly, Pinkie holding her head in her hooves as she tried to force the voice from her mind. _Get out of my head, you meanie voice! I would never do those nasty things to anypony!_ Pinkie shouted back at the voice. She knew she spoke the truth, but she felt an internal voice saying differently, saying that her happiness was a façade to mask the darkness inside her. Pinkie clenched her teeth as she fought the whisper in the back of her mind, telling her that her joy was a lie.

Pinkie struggled against the voice until she heard a familiar tune coming from downstairs. Pinkie had taught Mrs. Cake the lyrics for whenever the foals had gotten restless. The tune rang crystal clear in her mind as she sang.

"_When I was just a little filly and the sun was going dooowwwn,"_

"_The darkness and the shadows, they would always make me frooowwwn."_

"_I'd hide under my pillow from what I thought I saw."_

"_But Granny Cake said that wasn't the way to deal with fears at all."_

The words brought joyful tears to Pinkie's eyes as the voice in her mind was put to rest as she began to pick up the lyrics. Pinkie began whispering that timeless song that her Granny Pie had taught her as Mrs. Cake continued beneath her.

"_Pinkie, you gotta stand up tall,"_

"_Learn to face your fears."_

"_You'll see that they can't hurt you,"_

"_Just laugh to make them disappeeeaar."_

At the last word, Pinkie began to chuckle to herself. The chuckling she was doing slowly became laughing. Soon her laughter filled the attic with joyous sound as any darkness inside her vanished as quickly as it had come. Pinkie's eyes were tearing up with happiness that the voice in her head was gone.

Soon, there was a knocking at her door. "Pinkie, is everything alright?" Mr. Cake's voice asked through the door.

Pinkie tried to stop laughing, but couldn't out of sheer joy. She managed to answer between laughs. "It's hahahaha! Alright, hahahaha! Mr. Cake! It's all right!" the pink party pony cried happily.

"Well whatever you're laughing about I'm sure is hilarious, but we open in five minutes." Mr. Cake said.

Pinkie's laughter stopped instantly at hearing this. _Oh that's right! I need to help get ready for the early morning rush!_ She thought, bouncing off her bed and opening the door. She poked her pink poofy maned head out the door to see Carrot Cake standing in the doorway.

"I'll be right down, Mr. Cake!" Pinkie said enthusiastically, closing the door in her boss's face.

"Sure thing, Pinkie. We've got some cinnamon buns ready for you to bake when you come down." Mr. Cake said through the door then began trotting down the stairs and back out onto the store floor.

"Okie dokie lokie!" Pinkie said cheerfully. With a smile on her face, Pinkie felt ready to face the day. _You aren't me, mister meanie voice. And I am definitely not you._ Pinkie thought confidently, opening her door to go downstairs.

-Rainbow Dash's home-

Rainbow Dash was sitting in a corner, hugging her knees close to her chest. Her magenta eyes shrunk and sweat beaded her forehead. The dream had been so real. She could see her friends lying dead in the street. She saw Morning Star with that weapon, ready to take her life. She shivered in her corner as her eyes darted around at any sound that was made. _I am loyal to my friends! I'd never split loyalties with anypony else! _The rainbow-maned mare thought to herself.

A voice in the back of her head told her other wise. _Loyalty is so easy to misplace, Rainbow. You could betray your closest friends to death and you wouldn't even know it!_

"No! You're wrong! I'd never betray my friends!" Rainbow shouted at the voice.

_But how could you be sure you are loyal to the right ponies? How do you know that they aren't the enemy?_

"Enemy? What enemy are we facing that I could betray them to?" Rainbow asked, turning her head to face the window in her cloud wall. She could see the village of Ponyville coming to life as ponies got out of their homes and began to do the day's work.

_Exactly. Obscurity is always something to fear, Rainbow. A supposed hug from a friend could become a cloak-and-dagger tactic used by a "friend"._

"Get out of my bucking head!" Rainbow shouted, holding her head and shaking it. The voice in her head just laughed at her feeble efforts. Tears came to Rainbow's eyes as she began to feel like what the voice was saying was true. How loyal have her friends been to her? How many things have they done that they wanted to do without her?

_You feel that, Rainbow? Notice how lonely it is._ Loneliness. That was the one thing Rainbow hated feeling. She began to recall all the times when she did things by herself and failed. She remembered the race against her would-be pets to see which would be the best. She ended up getting trapped under a fallen rock from an avalanche. She remembered the time when she tried to be the hero of Ponyville, but alienated every pony near her in the process. She recalled the feeling that came over her as Discord corrupted her in the Canterlot garden maze. All her times of failure… were because she did it on her own.

"I can't fight this on my own. I can't fight you by myself." Rainbow admitted, bowing her head.

_What are you getting at, Dash?_ The voice asked, growing suspicious.

"I can't fight you on my own, but I can do it with my friends! And they've been much more loyal than you've been making them out to be!" Rainbow said with a determined look on her face.

_But they don't care about you. How could disturbing whatever they're doing to help solve your problems possibly help?_

"Because they are my friends. And I need them how they need me." Rainbow said, extending her wings and flying out of her cloud house. She had to get to Twilight's. Her egghead friend would know how to help get that voice out of her head. Rainbow flew ahead to Ponyville, despite the protests from inside her mind.

-Fluttershy's Cottage-

Fluttershy woke up with a start, shivering and scared. _What did I just wake from? _Fluttershy thought as she began to remember the terror she had just experienced in that dream. That nightmare was so real… so lifelike. The thought of seeing a forest fire and animals dying around her made her stomach churn. The animals burning, the fear she saw in their eyes, the blazing inferno that consumed the forest and everything in it… it was too much for the yellow pegasus as she broke down sobbing in her bed.

_How could such a beautiful thing be destroyed so cruelly? _Fluttershy thought to herself as the tears flowed from her teal eyes. _Those animals didn't deserve that. What did they do to earn such a painful experience?_ Fluttershy thought, bringing the covers up to her eyes to weep into them.

Fluttershy could feel a tapping on her belly as she looked at what was the cause of the disturbance. She looked to see her pet bunny, Angel, tapping at her with a concerned look on his face.

"Oh Angel. I just had the worst dream." Fluttershy said, grabbing the rabbit and holding him close to her.

Normally Angel would be annoyed by Fluttershy's sudden emotional outbursts, but this one was different. _What could have happened to her?_ The rabbit thought as he simply accepted the embrace and hugged back. _She's the Element of Kindness. How often is it that kindness is shown towards her?_ Angel thought as he hugged her back.

Fluttershy noticed Angel hugging her back. "Thank you, Angel." She said, taking one of her hooves off him to wipe her eyes. "I needed that." Fluttershy said gratefully.

She looked outside the window above her bed to see the sun shining brightly on the forest behind her cottage. The animals frolicked and carried out their daily duties in her yard. Seeing such innocence brought warmth to Fluttershy's heart. A smile spread on her face as she watched the little fish swimming in a stream, the birds happily chirping in the trees, the squirrels and rabbits picking berries off the bushes, and the many animals blissfully carrying on with their morning. Fluttershy sighed with happiness. _It was only a dream._ She thought to herself assuredly. She looked back at Angel, who seemed happy to see her return to her normal self.

"Come on, Angel. Let's go make some breakfast." Fluttershy said, sliding out of the bed and landing on the floor. Angel hopped off the bed and landed on her back. Fluttershy giggled at her bunny and trotted off to the kitchen.

-Carousel Boutique-

"Spike, no!" Rarity cried as her eyes shot open. She found herself lying on the floor of her bedroom, her bed standing tall before her. _What horror did I just experience? My dear Spikey-wikey couldn't have done something as beastly as that! He just couldn't. _Rarity thought as she got up from the hard wood floor. _This sorrow would be more comfortable if I had made it to the bed last night._ Rarity thought. How could Spike, such an innocent baby dragon, cause such havoc? There was one explanation, but Rarity feared that should the evil inside Spike came to fruition, her dream would become a reality. That evil was his greed.

The greed of a dragon was considered legendary to some, as tales of how much they took and what dragons were willing to do to defend their piles of treasures were widely circulated throughout Equestria.

_Greed. It can drive ponies and dragons alike to do desperate things to each other._ Rarity thought, eyeing a special gem that lay on a cylindrical wooden bedside table. It was the fire ruby Spike had given her before his birthday a few years ago. The big red stone shone bright red in the morning sun, casting shades of red around the room. Rarity looked at the stone and began to think. _Spike could never do something like that, and this stone is the proof._ Rarity thought taking the gem in her hooves and stared at it. She could see her reflection in all the fire ruby's faces, her reflection tinted red by the stone. _But if Spike's greed is matched by his generosity, how much more greedy could I be?_ Rarity thought. Being the Element of Generosity, greed was a common temptation. Being exposed to such fancy things as gems and dresses on a daily basis made it very easy to become susceptible to something like avarice.

With a determined look, she gazed into the fire ruby, looking intently at her reflection.

"I will never become anything like that." Rarity said to her reflection. _If greed does that to a kind dragon like Spike, I shall never indulge that desire. _She thought as she continued. "I shall never be covetous of anything nor of anypony. If something as small as greed can do that to somepony, I will have no part of it." She said confidently. She smiled into the ruby and set it back on the bedside table.

_Spike will never be something as beastly as that monster in my nightmare. Wait… Spike!_ Rarity thought, rushing down the stairs and towards the boutique's atrium to leave. _I hope he's all right._ She thought nervously as she swung open her shop's door with her magic and shot outside towards the library.

-Canterlot Castle-

Luna woke suddenly. Gasping, she looked around her to find that she was still in her bed chamber, the large moon on her ceiling staring benevolently at her and the stars welcomed her back from her vicious dream. Ponyville… the library… that book. It all seemed so vivid. She could still remember every little detail. From the colors on the fillies' manes to the shape of the buildings, she knew all of it. The part with the book especially stood out in her mind.

_That couldn't have been him… but those eyes were unmistakable!_ Luna thought. She hadn't seen those eyes in over a thousand years and yet she knew exactly whose eyes they belonged to. _No. It couldn't have been him. He is dead. I saw him die. He couldn't have come back on his own. It would take more magic than mine and Tia's put together. _Luna thought reassuringly. But something in the back of her mind was nagging at her, telling her that the dream was more than just a simple nightmare.

"I'm sure it was nothing. That beast is dead and there is harmony in Equestria. If he was here, then where would he be?" Luna said to herself, getting up from her bed and walked under the archway that led to the hallway. She exited her night-themed room and entered the marble walled corridor that connected the royal bed chambers to the castle's atrium. Tapestries of all shapes, sizes, and designs hung from the wall, adding color to the stark white hallway. Luna heard hoofsteps and turned to find her celestial sister trotting down the hallway.

Princess Celestia looked at Luna and smiled. "How did you sleep, sister?" She asked warmly.

Luna began thinking to herself. _Should I tell her? Yes. All I need to say is that-_

"It was alright. Nothing major happened in the night, dear sister." She replied.

_Really?_

"I'm glad to hear that, Luna. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to arrange a meeting with some delegates from the Western Griffon Kingdom. Something about border control issues between them and the Eastern Kingdom and me needing to help negotiate." Celestia said, gracefully walking down the hall.

"Very well. Hope the negotiations go well." Luna said, waving a hoof goodbye to Celestia. _Why didn't I say something! Well I'm sure it's nothing huge. It was just a bad dream. How bad could it be? _

A crackling caught Luna's hearing as she turned to the source of the sound. Suddenly, a small green flame shot through a window up high in front of Luna and sped over Luna's head, missing by mere inches. Luna turned and looked on in curiosity as the flame travelled down the hallway and caught up to Celestia. Upon arriving in front of the sun goddess, the flame materialized into a small scroll with a seal closing it. Celestia grabbed the letter with her magic and read over the contents.

"Is everything alright, Tia?" Luna asked from down the hall, her voice ricocheting off the walls. Concern filled her mind as Celestia's eyes widened at reading the letter.

Suddenly, Celestia's horn lit up and with a bright yellow flash, she vanished. The letter floated down to the ground as Luna galloped to the spot where her sister had been a second before.

_Where did she go?_ Luna pondered, looking at the letter. It only took her a second to recognize the seal. Luna knew where her sister had gone, and she was going there too.

With a flash of bright blue light, Luna disappeared from the hallway.

-Outskirts of Ponyville-

A group of three ponies had gathered just outside of the Everfree Forest, the trees of the wood looming behind them. They had travelled far and risked much coming this close to Equestrian territory. Their failure would mean the certain doom of their hive. They couldn't fail.

"You sure this is a decent disguise, Fang?" Asked a pegasus mare, looking over her form. She had burnt orange eyes, a spikey cinnamon brown mane and tail, and had a palm tree as a cutie mark.

"You look fine, Cipha." Responded a skinny earth pony colt. He had sky blue fur, a dark red mane and tail that hung loose, and equally deep red eyes. His cutie mark was a spinning tire with a flame coming from the rear of it.

"Anything to get that unicorn. I can't believe we're sneaking in here to not feed. I haven't had a decent meal in months." Complained a large earth pony. He had jet black fur, a shortly cropped silver mane and tail, and lime green eyes. This one's cutie mark was a bright silver star.

"Quit your grumbling, Chassis. You aren't the only one here that hasn't eaten well in weeks." Cipha rebuked, putting on an angry look.

Chassis was unfazed by her disapproving gaze. "Oh please. What the queen doesn't know won't hurt her, right?"

"That's insubordination!" Fang said fiercely, getting up in Chassis's face. "Now I've had it with you complaining all the time, so why don't you buck up and accept the orders our queen gave us."

Chassis sighed. "Ugh. Fine. But as soon as this assignment is over I'm expecting some solid rewards. Preferably something edible." The disguised changeling said grudgingly.

"Look, the sooner we find this unicorn, the sooner we can be rewarded if that makes you feel any better." Cipha said to Chassis as she began to walk towards Ponyville. They could easily see all the buildings and Town Hall from where they were.

"Seems like such a peaceful village." Fang said, a twinge of jealousy in his voice. At the hive, there never was such a peace like the kind they had in Ponyville.

"Yeah, yeah, and all that sentimental baloney. Let's just go already." Chassis said impatiently. Fang fought back an urge to beat the stupid out of his counterpart, but sighed angrily and followed the large earth pony in front of him. Cipha followed behind Fang, giving him a stern look as if to say, _Don't do anything stupid._

Fang nodded at her subliminal message and Cipha seemed to lay off of him. Together, the trio of changelings ventured into the town.


	7. Chapter 7

**Before we begin, I'd like to apologize for the amount of time it took to do this chapter. I'm trying to get used to being back in school and the Internet began acting up on me just as I finished the chapter and haven't been able to access my network for a couple days. Perfect timing, right? But enough of my excuses, it's story time! Hope you guys like it!**

**Guardians of Light: A Shadow Forms**

**Chapter 7**

-Ponyville Library-

Spike stood over his alicorn guardian with a frightened look on his face as he looked her over. Her eyes were the same shade of yellow that he'd seen on Shimmering Jewel from his dream. The areas around her irises were bloodshot and tears streaked from them and stained her lavender fur. She looked like she'd been crying for several hours. _How long has she been like this?_ Spike thought, remembering back to when he saw Twilight walk down the stairs. He'd assumed she was doing some late night reading, but he didn't expect anything like this. He needed help, and he knew exactly where to get it.

"Hang on, Twilight. Help's on the way." Spike said in an assuring tone, but his concern fell on deaf ears as Twilight began mumbling more incoherent sentences.

Spike ran from Twilight to a wooden desk near the window of the library. He opened a drawer and took out a piece of parchment and took a quill from a mug on the desk. Grabbing an ink container that lay on the right side of the desktop, he dipped the quill in the container and began writing hastily.

_Dear Princess Celestia,_

_Something has happened to Twilight! I don't know how to explain it, but I saw her go downstairs to do some reading and when I woke up I saw her lying on the ground and mumbling things. That's not even the strangest of what's going on right now. Weird thing is, her eyes are yellow! I don't know what's causing this or how, but I'd like to request your assistance in this dilemma._

_Your loyal subject,_

_Spike_

Spike rolled up the parchment and opened the same drawer he got the parchment from. Taking a red ribbon out of the drawer, he tied the parchment into a scroll. Taking a golden seal, he placed it on the ribbon and took a deep breath. As Spike exhaled, he felt a heat rise in his throat and up through his mouth. Being immune to extreme heat, it felt like nothing to him as the green fire escaped his maw and consumed the letter he held before him. The letter disintegrated and began travelling out the window and into the air, going towards Canterlot.

_Just hurry, Princess._ Spike thought, looking back at Twilight. She was still shivering and mumbling quietly to herself. Spike knelt next to Twilight and looked gave the disconnected alicorn a mournful look. He didn't know what to do, how to solve this problem, or how the problem even got here. All he knew was that Twilight needed help.

A bright flash of yellow light shone through the library as Spike looked up from Twilight to see Princess Celestia standing tall above him.

"What is the problem, Spike?" Celestia asked, glancing at Twilight and back at Spike. "What happened to her?"

Spike bowed to his princess, then stood up. "I don't know, Princess. I saw her go downstairs last night, but when I got up, she was like this on the floor!" Spike said in a fearful voice.

Celestia looked over her student. There was nothing physically wrong with Twilight as far as she could tell. However, physical wellness could mask many problems underneath. Celestia then looked at Twilight's face. Her eyes widened to see her pupil's eyes were bright yellow instead of the deep purple they usually were. She saw the area around Twilight's irises were bloodshot. _She must have been like this for at least several hours._ The princess thought.

"Spike, when did-" Princess Celestia started to say, but was cut off by a bright flash of blue light from behind her. The solar princess turned her head to see Luna standing in the center of the library.

"What appears to be the trouble with Twilight, Spike?" Luna asked the dragon in a concerned tone.

Before Spike could respond, Celestia spoke up. "I was asking him the same thing, sister. Why did you come here?"

"I needed to tell you about a dream I… had." Luna said, her sentence trailing off after getting a look at Twilight. She seemed physically fine, but what caused her blood to freeze was the fact that Twilight's eyes were a very specific bright yellow.

"What is this dream you had, Luna?" Celestia asked, but Luna wasn't paying attention. The moon goddess slowly walked over to Twilight and knelt next to her, keeping her eyes on Twilight the whole time. "Luna? What dream?" Celestia asked again, this time in a more worried voice.

Luna stared at Twilight's yellow eyes._ The last time I saw those eyes… it can't be._ Luna thought.

Suddenly, Twilight moved her head to look straight into Luna's eyes. Spike jumped and Celestia tensed at the sudden movement, but Luna couldn't tear her gaze from Twilight's.

"Miss me Luna?" Twilight asked, but it wasn't in her voice. The voice was dark, guttural, and came from a creature that Luna dreaded to hear. _It can't be him! It just can't be!_ Luna's mind screamed as the bright yellow eyes stared into hers.

After saying this, Twilight shut her eyes, breaking Luna's gaze with hers. Luna blinked and shook her head as she stood up. Celestia cast Luna a worried look as Luna watched Twilight awaken.

Twilight opened her eyes to show that her eyes were purple once again. The princesses and Spike didn't look at her eyes for long before Twilight shut them again, got into a fetal position, and began sobbing uncontrollably.

"I couldn't save them. No matter what I tried, I couldn't do anything. So much death! Just… so…. much!" Twilight cried between sobs.

Celestia knelt next to her student and draped a large white wing over Twilight's body. "It's okay, Twilight. It's okay." She said in a comforting tone. Twilight's sobs steadied a little, but the tears kept flowing nonetheless.

Spike walked over to the purple alicorn and warmly embraced her. "It's alright, Twilight. You're here with us. There's nothing to worry about." He said softly. His words helped Twilight regain some composure as her sobs became less and less frequent.

Luna stood by and watched as Twilight recovered from her ordeal. _There's no denying it now. It has to be him._ Luna thought, frowning as the thought came to mind. _I need to act fast. If he has returned, then the entire world is at stake._ She thought, her horn lighting up.

Celestia looked up from Twilight to see her sister disappear in a flash in blue light. _Where has she gone to this time? _She thought as she felt Twilight relax under her wing.

Celestia looked down at the alicorn under her wing. "Doing better, Twilight?" Celestia asked warmly.

Twilight nodded. "Much better." She said, giving Celestia a tentative smile.

"Well it's alright now. You're here with us." Spike said, still hugging his guardian.

Celestia smiled at Spike's sentiment. _What a kind hearted dragon. _She thought, turning her attention back to her student.

"I know you don't want to revisit what happened while you slumbered Twilight, but what happened?" the princess asked.

Twilight's smile faded quickly, her eyes turned to the wooden floor beneath them. "Do I have to?" She asked pleadingly.

Celestia gave Twilight a sad look. "I am sorry, Twilight. But I have to know what was wrong." She said gravely.

Twilight nodded. "Okay. It first started when I-" Twilight began to speak but was cut off by a familiar voice.

"Twilight! You gotta help me!" A tomboyish voice filled the library as a cyan pegasus with a rainbow colored mane flew through the library's window. Rainbow Dash hovered above the two alicorns and dragon, staring straight at Twilight.

"What's the matter, Rainbow?" Twilight asked with a concerned look. Rainbow rarely asked for help, so whatever her problem was, it must have been something big.

"You can get rid of this stupid voice in my head!" Rainbow shouted, then turning her head to the left and whispered, "She can help me, and she will." She said, pausing for a few moments almost as if listening to a reply. "Would you just shut up!" Rainbow shouted, grabbing her head with her hooves and pinched her eyes shut.

"We weren't saying anything, Dash." Spike said from below. Rainbow opened her eyes again to look down at the baby dragon.

"I'm not talking about you guys. It's this voice that's been in my head ever since last night." The cyan pegasus said.

"Wait, what happened last night?" Celestia asked, now curious at the situation. Both Twilight and Rainbow Dash seemed to be suffering from something that occurred the previous night. _Coincidence?_ _Hardly._ Celestia thought.

"It was this dream I had. It was about you, Rarity, Pinkie and the others." Rainbow said, pointing a hoof at Twilight.

"A dream?" Celestia said, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah." Rainbow said, rubbing the back of her head and looked down at the floor. "Last night… I didn't dare sleep after I woke up from it." She said, floating to the floor. As her hooves touched the ground, Celestia leaned her head closer to Rainbow's.

"Care to explain what happened in your dream?" Celestia asked. "I know it wouldn't be pleasant to retell, but I have to know." She said, casting a glance at Twilight. "From both of you."

Rainbow hesitated for a moment. _Go ahead. Tell them every bloody detail._ The voice in Rainbow Dash's head exploited her hesitation as it spoke. _Tell them how they were murdered because of what you did._ It said, in an antagonizing tone. Rainbow put a stern look on her face.

"Yes, Princess. This is what happened in my dream." Rainbow told the princess of her terror the previous night. How she had been in a desolate Ponyville. How she had heard a voice calling itself Morning Star. How Morning showed her where her friends would be. How she saw her friends lying dead in the town square, their bodies as fresh in her memory as they were in the dream. Then she told of how she met Morning Star.

"Can you describe this Morning Star for me?" Celestia asked.

Rainbow nodded. "He was almost as tall as you, Princess. His fur and wings were some grayish color-"

"Wings? So this Morning Star is a pegasus?" Celestia questioned further.

"No, Princess. He was an alicorn. He had wings and a sharp horn on his head." Rainbow responded. Celestia's eyebrows rose at this. Rainbow continued her description. "He had a short black mane and tail, he had a cutie mark that looked like…" Rainbow said, tapping her forehead with her hoof, trying to remember. "A… dark sun."

Celestia's eyes narrowed at this description. "A dark sun? You mean a solar eclipse?" She asked.

Dash's head shot up to see Celestia. "Yeah! That's what it was!" She said. This deeply concerned the princess of the sun. _The last time there was a solar eclipse was a thousand years ago. But that was when…_ Celestia's thought as her mind trailed off while Rainbow continued her tale.

"But that isn't all. He had some sort of metal thingy on his hoof. He'd shove his hoof out and some sort of sharp blade would stick out of it." Rainbow said.

This snapped her out of her deep thoughts as Celestia's ears perked at what Dash had said. "You mean he'd thrust it out like this?" Celestia said, holding up her right hoof and swiftly extended her arm to its full length.

"Just like that. How'd you know?" Rainbow asked, furrowing her eyebrows together.

"It's called a-" Celestia began to say, but Twilight cut her off.

"A veiled edge." Twilight said grimly.

Celestia turned to face her student. "Yes, Twilight. That is correct."  
"But that kind of weapon hasn't been used in a thousand years." Twilight said, remembering what she read in a book on ancient pony history. During the few conflicts that Equestria had in the past couple millennia, the veiled edge was a rare weapon. Only the nobility or elite soldiers often used it.

"Again you are correct, my student. The fact that a veiled edge was in her dream could mean several things." Celestia said, tapping her chin with her gold-plated hoof. "Anything else, Rainbow?" Celestia asked, turning her attention back to the cyan pegasus.

"Yeah. There was one more thing." She said shakily. "It was his eyes. They were bright yellow."

Twilight's eyes widened at this. "My dream started by seeing yellow eyes too." She said in a surprised tone.

Spike looked at Twilight. "So what exactly happened when you went downstairs?"

Twilight told them of how she went downstairs for a midnight snack, but then started hearing voices. She said that she followed the voices until she found their origin. "They came from a white book. I took it out and began to read it. There weren't any words, just pictures." Twilight said, narrowing her eyes and looked at the ground.

"Can you tell us where this book is?" Celestia asked.

"I think it's right… here?" Twilight said, her voice trailing off as she failed to find the white book.

"So were you dreaming when you saw it?" Rainbow asked.

"No… at least not that I know of." Twilight said, getting up on her hooves and began to search the library. "Spike, do we have a white book with gold trim and a pearl in the center?"

Spike gave Twilight a blank stare.

"I guess not." Twilight said, turning to her teacher. "I'm sorry, Princess. I don't know where it is."

Celestia was lost in thought. _That book. It couldn't be. _"Twilight, you said it was solid white, had gold trim, and had a pearl embedded in the cover?"

"Exactly. What does it mean, Princess?" Twilight asked nervously, but the solar princess gave no response. "Princess?" Twilight tried to get her teacher's attention but her efforts were in vain.

Suddenly, Princess Celestia's horn lit up a bright yellow. "We will discuss this later." She said flatly, disappearing in a flash of yellow light, leaving a confused dragon and nervous two ponies in the library.

"Yes, we'd like to rent a house here in town for a few days." A cinnamon brown pegasus mare asked told the old mayor. The two colts next to the pegasus were looking around the mayor's office in Town Hall. It was a fairly large space. The stone walls were painted white, the floor was wooden, and the ceiling was made of plaster. There sat a desk where the mayor sat, her desk littered with random paperwork. There were a few seats in front of the desk where the three ponies sat, a table to the right of them were a few purple lilies sat in a ceramic vase, and a portrait of some old looking pony sat on the wall behind the mayor.

"Just the three of you?" Mayor Mare asked, raising an eyebrow.

The black stallion next to the pegasus mare responded. "Yes ma'am. Just the three of us for no more than five days." He said boldly. The colt opposite from him gave the stallion a stern look.

"Alright, now do you want to do a down payment and pay the rest later or pay all of it now?" The mayor asked, holding up a hoof to adjust her glasses.

The light blue colt on the other side of the pegasus answered before the black one could. "Depends. How much will it be?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

The mayor held a hoof to her chin as she calculated the cost. "So let's see. Three of you for five days in a rent house." She whispered to herself, tapping her chin. Her head shot up when she had the answer. "That'll be ninety bits."

The pegasus mare's jaw dropped at hearing the price. "How is it that expensive?" She asked, shocked at the price.

"Well it's five bits per pony and fifteen bits per day." She said, not happy with the looks she was receiving from the black stallion and the pegasus. "Hey, don't get mad at me. It's the stupid worker's union that makes the prices." She said with a grimace.

The light blue colt smiled and pulled out a bag full of bits. "Is this enough?" he asked, tossing the bag onto the mayor's desk. The sound of myriads of bits hitting the desk and each other rang in the office. The three other ponies stared incredulously at the sky blue colt who looked at the mayor with a relaxed smile. The mayor opened the bag and began counting the bits. After a few moments, the mayor looked up from the gold pieces.

"I think this will do it." The mayor said, sliding the bits back into the sack and took it off her desk. "Well, then. I hope you will enjoy your stay here in Ponyville. Now if you could fill these out, you'll be on your way." Mayor Mare said, taking out three pieces of paper, an inkbottle and three quills.

The three ponies took their quills and dipped them in the ink. One by one, they signed the housing agreement that lay before them.

The sky blue earth pony signed, _Speedy Delivery_

The pegasus mare signed, _Palm Spring_

And finally, the big black stallion signed, _Silver Star_

"That should do it. Your house is down Hoofington Road. It is to one right across the street from the Ponyville Library. If you see a giant tree with windows and a door, you're on the right street." Mayor Mare said with a smile, taking the housing agreement back and took out a key from her desk.

Palm Spring took the key and thanked the mayor. Together, the three ponies walked out of the office and into the atrium of Town Hall.

"Where did you get that money?" Palm asked, narrowing her eyes at Speedy.

"Well let's just say that a certain rich gentlecolt won't be missing it any time soon." Speed said with closed eyes as the three exited Town Hall. They soon began walking through the town, going to their rental home.

"Diamond Tiara! I'm home from work!" Filthy Rich said, walking through the front door of his large house. Hanging his top hat on a rack next to the door, he saw his daughter galloping up to see him.

"Hi, Daddy! Did you get the bits I need for the new bracelet I wanted?" A light purple filly with similarly colored hair with streaks of white asked in a snobbish tone. On her head was her trademark tiara with a diamond embedded in the center.

"Sure did, sweetie. Let me get it." He said warmly, turning his head to grab his sack of bits, but to his dismay, couldn't find them. His face paled as he came to the conclusion that he'd lost them. "Uh… hehe." Filthy gave a nervous laugh as Diamond's face turned from one of enthusiasm to irritation. _I think I'll be going to the salt lick with the guys tonight after all._ He thought as he tried think of an explanation to give his daughter.


	8. Chapter 8

**Guardians of Light: A Shadow Forms**

**Chapter 8**

-Canterlot Archives: 1,000 years before Nightmare Moon's return-

"Master Starswirl, art thou still awake?" A hooded unicorn asked as he entered the historical wing of the archives. Books filled the shelves that encircled the room. There were books from all different periods of Equestrian history that surrounded the two ponies in the room. The works in the wing represented the Discordant Period, the Pre-Equestrian Age, the Rise and Fall of the Alicorns, and many other epochs. In the midst of these timeless tales, a single white-bearded unicorn sat at a square wooden table in the middle of the room, a large book open before him. His dark blue fur was illuminated by the silver moonlight that shone through the large windows in the room. On the lone unicorn's shoulders was a flowing multi-shaded blue cape that displayed the stars and moon and brass bells adorned the hems. On his head was a large wizard's hat that showed the same nocturnal designs as the cape, on which were many bells on the brim that jingled as he turned his head to see the hooded visitor.

Starswirl the Bearded regarded the hooded pony with deep purple eyes. "I am not yet drowsy, my dear Clover. There is still much that needs to be studied." He said, his old age making itself apparent in his speech.

The hooded pony threw back the hood to reveal a grey-furred unicorn with light green eyes. Clover the Clever gave his teacher a concerned look.

"But, Master, the day hast been spent well with these tales of old." Clover said, waving a hoof at the books around him. "We hath gathered much knowledge of the ancients as it is. Let us retire to each other's bedchambers and continue with our studies in the morn."

Starswirl turned to face his student, a determined look on his face. "My student, when thou hast gotten as old as I am, thou tryest to answer all of life's questions. Everything thou hast lived in thy life, thou question it in reflection. Such is the way of the universe. The older thou become, the more thou can look back and ponder. So no, Clover, I shall not be going to my bed any time soon." He said, turning his back to Clover and resumed reading.

Clover bowed his head. "My apologies, Master. If that be the case, I shall retire." He said, turning around and began walking back out of the library wing.

"Clover." Starswirl calmly called his student, his back still facing his student.

Clover looked back. "Yes, Teacher?"

"No need to apologize, my pupil. Thou hast many things to learn, but there is no need to apologize for being young." Starswirl said, turning his head to see Clover, a slight smile on his face.

Clover replied with a smile. "Thank you, Teacher." With that, Clover left the library wing to go to his bedroom. Starswirl watched as his student walked down the hall, making a right down one of the many tall white corridors of the archives.

_Such youth._ The old wizard thought. _To be that young again, still with the knowledge I hath learned. Such is desirable, yet an impossibility._ He thought with a sigh. There was so much to learn, so much to study, yet so little time to do it. The travel from his tribal homeland to Equestria had taken a large toll on his studies. After Clover came back with the tribal leaders telling of a new land where the three tribes could live in harmony, he was ecstatic to learn and study the new land. However, the trip took longer than expected. Being instructed by Princess Celestia herself to organize the mass exodus to the new land had greatly decreased the amount of time he could have used to study. However, this did not stop him from learning a great deal about the new land once he got there. The mountains, the valleys, the waterfalls, the land's fertility… there was so much of it to be observed, charted, and studied. With Clover's help, he was able to gather much information about the new land. Now he was old and advanced in years, spending his days in the newly constructed Canterlot Archives. There he studied from dawn until dusk, researching with his student and conversing philosophy with any pony looking for a debate.

He grinned as he looked back on the past. Memories, ponies, and events flashed in his mind as he reflected. He let out a content sigh, knowing that his life was well spent. He looked down at the book and continued reading the book, "Happenings and Strange Events".

Starswirl's eyes narrowed at the passage.

_There is one pony, however, that has been seen throughout all eras of pony history. Where this pony was found, darkness soon followed. Somewhat of a prequel to the Discordant Period, chaos and evil reigned wherever this pony went. _Starswirl began to develop questions in his head as he continued reading. _Not many ponies witnessed this strange alicorn, but any that did could only remember one feature. The alicorn's eyes were a bright yellow with slit pupils. All other details differ between accounts._

_Bright yellow eyes? Where have I seen that description before?_ Starswirl thought as he closed the large book. He slowly got up from the table and made his way to one shelf that was categorized under the words _Supernaturals_. Starswirl browsed over the titles of the books that stood on the shelves before him. Eventually, his gaze settled on one unnamed book in particular. It was a bright white book with gold bindings that sparkled in the moonlight. He didn't know what it was, but Starswirl felt called by the book, begging him to open it. _Think of the knowledge that lies in this book. _Starswirl's ear twitched, he could've sworn he heard something.

_If it gives me information on this yellow-eyed fellow, then I shall indulge this curiosity. _He thought Starswirl's horn glowed a bluish tint and the book levitated off of the shelf as he carried it to the table from where he came.

The blue magical field around the book dissipated as Starswirl released it from his magical grip. The book lay on the table, displaying a bright pearl embedded in the cover, surrounded by gold trim.

The old unicorn opened the book with his hoof, seeing a wall of text on the first page. Starswirl's eyes widened at seeing the array of languages that were displayed in the book. There was Changeling text, Griffonian, Equestrian, both Old and Revised versions of Crystalline, and many other languages that Starswirl hadn't even seen before.

He focused on the Equestrian speech and read. _In this book can be found your wildest dreams, and your most depraved nightmares. You will find the brightest of light, and the blackest of dark. For light to exist, darkness must exist as well. Such is the way of all things. Some are governed by the light, while others are led by darkness. This duality permeates all of nature, tainting all with yin and yang._ _Read carefully, Starswirl the Bearded, and heed the advice in these pages. _Starswirl's eyes widened at the mention of his name in this book.

_How do these pages know I'm reading them?_ Starswirl pondered. He turned the page to continue reading and was shocked at what he saw.

The page had only two sentences in it. _Is it the pages that know who reads them? Or is it the author that knows who is reading it?_ The page read.

Starswirl was at a loss. He'd known magic all his life, but never had he seen a book that could talk directly to its reader. "Who is this author, then?" Starswirl asked the book, turning the page. He wasn't surprised to see a response on the next page.

_He is one from ages past. One who is in a single place, yet can be everywhere as well. _The page read.

Starswirl's eyes narrowed at this. _So he could be in one place, but everywhere also? How does that make any sense?_ He thought, turning the page.

_Make sense? What fun is there in making sense?_ The page read, responding to Starswirl's thought.

Starswirl narrowed his eyes at the passage. He had read those exact words in one of the royal journals from the Discordant Period. Those words belonged to one draconiquus in particular.

"Discord? Are you the writer of this book?" He asked, flipping the page. Words faded in as the book responded.

_Nay, my dear magician, While he does embody the spirit of chaos, a little nonsense is fun every once in a while._ The page read.

"So who art thou, then?" Starswirl asked, flipping the page.

The page only read two words. _A friend._

-Crystal Castle: 1,000 years before Nightmare Moon's return-

A shadow glided along the dark side of crystal castle, its plan almost set in motion. Sliding along one of the flying buttresses of the castle, it covertly skimmed up the wall, not drawing any attention from the crystal guards below. The shadow smiled. _Perfect._ It thought, making its way to the top floor.

Sombra looked over his kingdom from the balcony of the castle, his ice blue eyes surveying the buildings and ponies below. On the ground, crystal ponies began to sleep, the lights disappearing from their windows. As the Crystal Empire began to sleep, Sombra turned to go back to his bedchambers. He walked through the crystal archway that divided the bedroom from the balcony and entered his room.

He looked around his bedchambers. Ornate crystal structures filled the room. Decorations resembling historical figures, symbols, and many other forms filled the circular room. A crystal nightstand lay next to his bed, on which his eyes settled. His large bed lay in the corner, beckoning him to sleep. Sombra walked over to the crystal ewe woolen-covers and his horn lit a bright blue, his robes levitating off his body and floating onto the floor. His white fur and horn glistened in the Luna's moonlight as the robes were removed. Sombra climbed into the bed, pulling the covers over his torso.

Sombra turned on his side and looked back at the balcony, thinking about his subjects. All of them adored him. All were loyal to him. Yet why did he want more?

He loved ruling this country, but hated sharing it. The bureaucrats in the senate always held him back from fulfilling his royal decrees with their politics and filibusters. _Who are they to hold back a king from governing his land?_ Sombra thought angrily. _I am king! Not those bumbling buffoons in the courts!_ He thought, looking at the illustration of the crystal heart that stared back at him from the ceiling.

_The Crystal Heart._ He looked at the illustration in wonder. _Such love, such unity. How could a simple crystal cause such a nation to live in harmony?_

"Makes you wonder why they even need a leader when such perfect harmony exists." A whispery voice filled the room.

Sombra's eyes were wide open and ears perked at hearing the voice. _An intruder!_ He thought, his horn glowing as a blue bladed crystal dagger flew out of the top drawer of the nightstand.

"Do not be alarmed, mighty King Sombra of the Crystal Empire. I come not as an intruder, but as a friend." The voice said.

Sombra looked around the room, the voice sounding like it came from everywhere at once. His eyes narrowed and magic holding the dagger ready, he responded in an authoritative voice. "What friend intrudes my quarters in the dead of night?"

"A friend bringing a gift." The voice said, the sound centralizing on the wall to Sombra's right. Sombra turned to see a shadow in the shape of an alicorn standing on the wall.

"What is this gift?" Sombra cautiously asked, withdrawing the dagger slightly.

"What thou hast always wanted. Those idiots in the senate have always stood in thy way, haven't they? Why not be rid of them and have this glorious kingdom to thyself?" The shadow said, beginning to materialize off the walls. A leg of the shadow disappeared as a steel-grey hoof stepped from the wall.

Sombra's eyes widened as the dagger shot back to its original defensive position. _How does this thing know what I want? _He thought.

"More rather, what do I not know?" The shadow asked, responding to the unicorn king's thoughts. Sombra stepped out of bed and took a few steps back from the shadow.

"Who art thou?" He asked in a shocked tone, his large and muscular form visibly shaking from fear.

The shadow continued to materialize, two other hoofs and the lower torso coming out of the wall. "I am one that has many names. But you can call me… Crystal Glory." The voice said, a mouth forming from the wall as it spoke the words.

Sombra lowered the dagger. "Well, Crystal Glory, it is not so easy to take power like that. There are regulations on power for a reason." Sombra countered, giving the halfway-materialized shadow a stern gaze.

"Regulations that thou hast never liked to begin with. Thou shall not need to do a thing. Let me take care of them. Tomorrow morning, the Crystal Empire will be yours. Completely and utterly yours." The shadow said, emphasizing each word. A steel-grey upper torso now formed from the wall as it spoke.

Sombra looked at the floor, pondering his choices. He could listen to this pony and have absolute power, or continue wishing for his way but never getting it. He looked back up, looking at the shadow with a determined look.

"I accept this gift. Now what do I do?" He asked with a firm voice, the fear gone from his frame.

The head of the shadow finally materialized, fully revealing the shadowy alicorn from the wall. He wore gold armor from head to toe. A gold helmet covered his grey head, his sharp horn protruding from a hole in the top. His chest armor covered his torso, a single pearl embedded in the center of the gold plating. On three of his feet were golden hoofpads that ran up as spikes up his legs. On his front right hoof was a veiled edge, sinister and the blade held inside the gauntlet. And on his wings were two golden armor pieces that covered the bony parts of the wings, letting the dark grey feathers flourish out the back. The pony's eyes were closed as Sombra watched the pony fully materialize.

The alicorn's eyes shot open, revealing bright yellow eyes with slit pupils. He stared into Sombra's eyes, his cold gaze beginning to take over the king's mind. Sombra began to feel like he was in a trance as the control of his mind was waning as he looked into this alicorn's eyes.

"All thou should do… is rest." Crystal Glory said calmly, the king's eyes beginning to change color. No longer the ice blue that they were, they now became red with green irises, purple smoke beginning to billow from the corners of his eyes. From his eyes to his body, Sombra's transformation began. Sombra's beautiful white fur began to fade to dark grey. His horn was no longer white, but now became tinged red. All benevolent thought fled his mind as greed and desire for power began to take hold.

Crystal Glory smiled at his creation. "Now to bed, King Sombra. Tomorrow is going to be a new day for you." He said with a smile.

Sombra nodded slowly, still entranced by the yellow eyes. The unicorn king turned and walked towards his bed, getting under the covers and closing his new red eyes to sleep.

"Yes. Tomorrow will be a new day. A new day for everypony." Crystal said with a smile, melting back into shadow on the floor and retreated down the balcony. He had some work to do.

-Canterlot Castle: 1,000 years before Nightmare Moon's return-

Luna slept soundly in her bedchambers, the moon shining brightly on her while she slept. The lunar princess, while sleeping soundly, didn't notice a shadow shooting across the floor towards her bed. The shadow climbed up one of the bedposts and merged with Luna's shadow.

In Luna's dream, she watched fillies, colts, mares, and stallions sleep soundly in each of their beds. Each of her subjects was fast asleep, dreaming the happy dreams that she provided them. From Ponyville to Canterlot, from Manehattan to Las Pegasus, ponies slept soundly in their beds.

_Such peace. _Luna thought with a relaxed face. _It can only be found in the peace of the night._ She looked up at the moon. Its craters were each individual eyes looking back at her with warmth. Here in the night, she felt truly at peace. She closed her eyes and sighed, satisfied with her work.

"It's such a shame that such peace can't come during the day." Luna's eyes popped open at the voice. She turned around to see a steel-grey alicorn standing behind her. His yellow eyes stared at her, the yellow contrasting the dark of the night, making his eyes look even brighter.

"State thy name and business in this dream, stranger." She said sternly, upset that someone had interrupted the serenity of her night.

"Only know that I am a friend, Princess of the Night. I was merely visiting your fair dream realm and to compare notes." The alicorn said calmly, turning his head to look at the sleeping village they were standing in. Simple wooden structures with straw roofs surrounded them. At the center of the town was a circular building that culminated in a spire at the top. "What is the name of this simple place?" He asked curiously.

"This village's name is Ponyville. And what notes wert thou comparing?" Luna inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"Ponyville. Has a certain ring to it." The alicorn said with a slight smile. He cleared his throat. "Ahem, sorry. Now to your question. I am comparing the day and the night. What happens, why it happens, and so on. I must say that thy night is much more peaceful than the daytime. While ponies sleep and are still during the night, they are busy and bustling in the day." He complimented.

Luna beamed with pride. "Finally! One that appreciates the night as I do. 'Tis true. My sister's day is much more bustling than my night."  
"But…" The alicorn said, taking several steps towards Luna. "Why does the day get so much more attention than thy night?" He asked with a sad tone.

Luna looked at the ground, confused by the question. "What dost thou mean by-" She began to say, but was cut off.

"Thou knowst what I mean, fair princess. Why is it that the daytime is when ponies play and work while they sleep and ignore your beautiful nights?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at the lunar princess.

Luna's face hardened. "Because that is when they choose to carry out their business. It is not my decision nor my sister's." She said sternly.

"And yet, they choose the day over the night. What are some common connotations with day, dear Luna?"

Luna's ears perked at hearing her name. "How dost thou know my name?" She asked.

The alicorn smirked. "How do I not? A princess of the night should be as appreciated as the princess of the sun. However, more ponies are more familiar with your sister than with you. Is it preference that decides this?"

Luna began to feel something boil in her chest. What was this feeling? Was it… jealousy?

"Nay! 'Tis not preference that our subjects know us differently." She shouted, almost using the Canterlot voice at the strange alicorn.

"Then tell me, Princess Luna. What do ponies think of when day comes to mind?" Before Luna could respond, the alicorn spoke for her. "Peace, hope, and security. And what do they think of when night comes to their minds?" The alicorn said, his voice getting harsher with each word. "Thieves, uncertainty, and fear. Now tellest me why thy subjects think of thy sister and thyself both as equals when clearly, there is no evidence to support the claim!" he said, almost shouting at her.

Princess Luna was angry. Angry at this alicorn, angry at her sister, angry at her subjects. It didn't matter who it was, she was mad at them. "Begone from my dream, alicorn! Lest I see you again, thou won't have the chance to speak thy words." She said fiercely, the anger reflecting in her eyes as her horn glowed a radiant blue.

The alicorn backed off, his face softening. "Very well, Princess. I shall withdraw. But should my words ring true in thy mind, I shall be waiting for thy reply." He said, walking backwards from Luna, his form beginning to fade into the night.

"Then thou shall be waiting a very long time!" Luna shouted back at the retreating alicorn.

"I can wait." He said, narrowing his yellow eyes with a smile. _It'll be sooner than she thinks._ He thought as he completely disappeared from the dream.

Luna huffed in anger as she began to ponder the alicorn's words. _Who dost he think he is? I am the princess of the night and Celestia is the princess of the sun. Together we rule in harmony. And yet…_ Luna thought, looking up at the moon. Suddenly it didn't feel so warm to look at. It felt like looking through the window of a prison cell.

The shadow disbanded from Luna's sleeping form and towards the window that gave the room its light from the moon. The shadow stopped to look back at Luna one more time, smiled, then disappeared into the night.


	9. Chapter 9

**Guardians of Light: A Shadow Forms**

**Chapter 9**

-Canterlot Castle: 1,000 years before Nightmare Moon's return-

_Ugh. What a night._ Luna thought as she got ready to perform her royal duties for the day. She remembered the dream she had the previous night and shuddered as her horn glowed a deep blue. Her lunar neckpiece levitated and secured itself around her neck. _What that alicorn said was a lie! Celestia and I rule together as equals._ She thought, but something inside her said otherwise. Luna groaned as she walked over to her vanity. The vanity was made of obsidian and had small diamonds surrounding the mirror. Luna walked to her vanity and looked in the mirror. _Goodness. My mane looks atrocious._ She thought with a chuckle. Her usually neat mane was frazzled and tangled in multiple places. _Well, nothing a simple brushing cannot solve._ She thought, looking down and opening a drawer on the right of her using her magic. A brush levitated out and she looked into the mirror to begin brushing.

Luna looked back into the mirror and her eyes widened in shock at what she saw. It was her… yet it wasn't. She stood taller and was thinner in the reflection than she actually was. Instead of dark blue fur, her fur was black as the void between the stars in the sky. Instead of soft cerulean eyes, they were a harsh teal with slit pupils. On her head was a silver helmet that allowed her horn and ears to stick out. On her chest was a protective plate made of the same metal.

Luna's breathing now became quick pants as her heart beat began to quicken. _What is this thing?_ She thought, not tearing her gaze away from the image of herself. Slowing her breath, Luna narrowed her eyes at the image, the larger and darker image in the mirror doing just what she was doing.

"Who art thou?" She whispered, keeping her gaze on her reflection. A few knocks to the door to her chambers caused Luna to jump and look at the door. "Just a minute." She said, turning her head to see the mirror again. She was surprised to see that her reflection had turned to normal. There was no taller and darker version of herself, only a small lunar princess stared back.

The large wooden door opened to reveal the princess of the sun, her white mane shining in the sunlight that came through the window. "Sister, didst thou sleep well last night?" Princess Celestia said in a soft yet authoritative voice. Seeing Luna's mane, she chuckled. "I assume not."

"Nay, dear sister. I slept well last night." Luna responded, but the uncertainty in her voice made Celestia raise an eyebrow. Luna began to brush her mane as Celestia approached her.

"Is something the matter, Luna?" Celestia asked, her voice filled with worry.

"I said I slept fine, Tia. Why art thou so concerned?" Luna asked hastily as Celestia now stood behind her.

Celestia decided to back off. _She is hiding something. I shall question it further at a later time._ She thought, making a mental note. "No reason. I was just wondering how thou slept." Celestia said, sounding innocent.

Luna looked at Celestia suspiciously in the mirror. "I slept well. No major troubles occurred in the night. So what is on the agenda for this day?" She asked, hoping to change the subject.

Celestia's ears perked, happy for the subject shift. "We are to oversee preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration next week. We journey to Fillydelphia whenever thou are ready." She said with a smile.

Luna forced a smile in return, masking her inner contempt. _Ah yes, the one day of the year that serves completely as an ego stroke for my sister._ Luna thought, immediately shaking the thought out of her mind. _Where did that come from?_ She wondered.

"I shall be ready in the hour, dear sister." Luna said, returning her attention to her mane.

Celestia nodded. "Very well, I shall get the carriage ready." She said, turning to leave Luna's bedroom. Luna watched as her sister left the room, Celestia closing the gilded door behind her with her magic. As soon as the door clicked shut, Luna snapped her head back to the mirror.

_I do not know what that was, but I hope to never see it again._ Luna thought. _Although, it may be more bearable than watching our subjects drool over Celestia._ She thought with a sneer. Her mind went back to the dream she had the previous night. Maybe her sister was getting more praise and attention than she was. _Maybe- No! Stop thinking like that!_ She shut her eyes and shook her head. _This is a child's jealousy. I am over such immaturity._ She thought, opening her eyes and looked at her reflection. _And yet…_ Her mind trailed off as she resumed brushing her periwinkle mane.

On a cloud overlooking the castle, a steel gray alicorn stallion watched as the lunar princess brushed her mane. His bright yellow eyes and slit pupils stared at the alicorn princess like a hunter stalking its prey. _Yes. It was a good decision choosing her. _His thought as his lips slowly formed a grin. _Now that Sombra has been taken care of, only she remains. _He thought, looking at his veiled edge.

The gauntlet's black metal glinted in the sunlight, casting a dark purple reflection onto the stallion's face. Lifting his right hoof and thrusting it forward, a blood red two-foot long blade extended from the gauntlet with the sound of metal sliding against the inside of a scabbard. The alicorn brought the blade to his face and stared at it. Small anxious whispers filled his ears as he looked at the red blade. _Not now, Siphon. _The alicorn's thoughts directed at the blade. _Your thirst for blood will be satisfied in due time. However, events must be allowed to take place until then._ The stallion thought, holding the gauntlet to his face. The whispers died down after he addressed them.

Bringing his other hoof up, he pressed a small circular button on the opposite side of the gauntlet. The blade retracted back into the gauntlet as he held the button down. As the blade disappeared from sight, he released the button and returned to his original position on the cloud.His grin became a smile as his horn lit up bright yellow. _I've waited so long… and now I am so close. _With a yellow flash, he was gone.

-Canterlot Archives, Present Day-

A bright blue flash illuminated the Starswirl the Bearded wing of the Canterlot Archives. Once the flash died down, in its place stood Luna, a determined and fearful look on her face. She sprinted to the nearest bookshelf and began going through every title. _On the History of Pegasi? No. Dealing with the Arcane? No! The Princess and the Peasant? No, no, no! _Luna thought as her mind was going frantic. She just had to find that journal!

A bright yellow flash in the corner of her eye caught her attention. Luna turned to see the source of the light to see Celestia teleport into the Archives.

"Luna, what are you doing?" Celestia asked in a concerned tone.

Luna responded as she resumed scanning the titles of various books. "Looking for clues. Things that may hint as to when he's coming back."

"Sister, how can you be sure-" Celestia began to say, but was cut off.

The lunar princess spun around to look at her sister. "It _is_ him, Tia!" Luna shouted with a fierce look in her cerulean eyes. "I have never been more sure of anything in my life!"

"But how can you know for certain?" Celestia asked, giving Luna a worried look.

"When I looked into Twilight's eyes, they were yellow. Not just any shade of yellow, but a glowing bright yellow. I've only seen one other…" Luna paused to think of how to describe the ancient being. "…thing that has that set of eyes. And your faithful student even spoke to me, but not in her voice! You saw and heard the same things I did. How could there be any doubt in your mind that the Ancient Shadow has returned?" Luna exasperated.

"We can't just rush in and assume this was the Shadow. For all we know it was an elaborate set up by a pony practicing dark magic." Celestia said.  
Luna's eyes narrowed. "It takes a very powerful magic to induce dreams, let alone on multiple ponies at once. A magician that is still practicing would be nowhere near the skill set to produce that kind of magic. You should know these sort of things, Tia." Luna said in a cold tone.

"You think I don't!" Celestia said, her voice rising with each syllable. "You think that I want to relive sending you to the moon? Well I'm sorry to disappoint you, Luna! But you were not the only one that suffered when that happened!" Celestia shouted, her voice bouncing off the white walls of the usually quiet Archives.

"I am aware of that!" Luna retorted. "And I know you don't want to go through it again as much as I do, but there is a clear threat right now and you are trying to ignore it." Luna said, her voice getting dangerously low. "We can't pretend the problem isn't there, Tia. Not again." She said, looking at the ground in shame. "Not again." Luna said in a worried whisper. The memories of her banishment, though a thousand years old, still came through as clear as crystal.

Celestia slowly approached her sister. Celestia gently put a hoof on Luna's shoulder. At the touch, Luna looked up to see her solar sister. "We will take care of this, Luna." She said, embracing Luna. "Together." Luna returned the hug, a small tear dropping from her eye.

-West Gryphonia, sky above Dayguard of the Aegis Province, Present Day-

Gilda sat on the poofy cloud and looked down on her hometown of Dayguard. It was once filled with life and happiness, but now it was a quiet shantytown. A lot of the buildings had been condemned due to the fact that they were mostly unused and fell into disrepair. The government was too busy with the Eastern Kingdom and reforms for the cities to help out griffons in the countryside. Whatever griffons had lived in those parts of the kingdom had moved on to the bigger and rapidly growing cities in the central districts. As a result, she lost many friends when they moved with their families to the cities. In addition to this, all her friends that didn't go to the cities were drafted to fight a war that could erupt at any time. _Well, save for one._ She thought.

The flapping of wings behind her caught her attention. Gilda turned her head and a small smile graced her beak at the griffon she saw. Before her was a griffon that was slightly larger than she was. His eyes were a bold golden yellow that gleamed in the sunlight. His head was covered with speckled black and grey feathers and the fur on his torso was a mahogany brown.

"What's up, Hawkeye?" She asked. Hawkeye smiled back at her and shrugged.

"Nothing, huh? Yeah. Same here." Gilda said. "How's the therapy going for ya?"

Hawkeye's smile faded and was replaced by a sad frown.

"Not good?" Gilda asked with a concerned look.

Hawkeye drew a deep breath and answered. "No." He said, his effort making itself known through his labored and raspy voice.

"I'm sorry to hear that, dude."

Hawkeye shrugged and pointed a clawed finger at Gilda. He then pointed to the right, eastward. He looked back at Gilda with a questioning look.

Gilda folded her arms and huffed. "There is no way in Tartarus I'm going to those cities. Too many dweebs to be around anyway."

Hawkeye then began gesturing again. Gilda watched as he drew a half circle with his claws and pointed west towards Equestria.

"After what happened, I doubt Dash would want to see me again." Gilda said with a sigh. In hindsight, she had realized how much of a jerk she was to Rainbow and her friends, especially the pink one. But what was done is done. The past can't change. Gilda shook the thoughts from her mind. "But that doesn't matter. What matters is what will happen in this bucking country." She said.

Hawkeye glared at Gilda for her language.

"Sorry, but I'm just so frustrated with this place." Gilda said, her complexion turning fierce. "The king leaves us behind, drafts my friends into a possible war with our fellow griffons, and even worse, that lame Princess Celestia can't make the time to try to settle the issue when she knows that our governments can't agree on anything." She said, bitterness dripping from her words.

Hawkeye placed a hand on Gilda's shoulder. Responding to the touch, Gilda turned to see Hawkeye looking her in the eyes. He had a serenity about him that made Gilda feel better. "Don't…" Hawkeye rasped, his vocal chords straining with effort. "Worry." He said with a calming smile.

Gilda's hardened expression melted away as she listened to Hawkeye. Eventually, a small grin found its way onto her beak.

"For a griffon of few words, Hawkeye, you sure know how to cool my jets." She said, embracing him as a token of thanks.

Hawkeye returned the hug with closed eyes and a soft smile.

Despite all the chaos going on in their homeland, two griffons were at peace.

-Changeling Hive, Present Day-

"What is taking them so long? They should have reported back by now." Chrysalis said, pacing her bedchambers anxiously, her hooves making clopping sounds on the black cave floor where she stepped.

"Be at peace, your Majesty." Raspian said from the corner of the room. "They'll report when they have something to report."

After a few more minutes of pacing, the changeling queen huffed in frustration.

"Gah! Okay, I'm contacting them right now. I can't wait any longer." Chrysalis said, her holey horn glowing a sharp green.

"My Queen, wait! What if they're somewhere public? It would blow their cover!" Raspian exclaimed, trying to stop Chrysalis.

Chrysalis looked back at Raspian a fierce look. "They are taking their sweet time while their fellow changelings here starve and die each hour they are gone! We are losing time, Raspian!"

Raspian backed off. He knew he was treading dangerous ground here. "While that is true, Highness, I must object to contacting them right now."

Chrysalis's eyes narrowed at her captain. If looks could kill, Raspian would be as good as dead. "So then you recommend taking our time." The irate queen spoke slowly, venom dripping from her words. "You recommend taking our time while the only creature that can help us is trapped. And you recommend that the three changelings I sent to that Equestrian village wait for a magic user to just make itself known to them." Chrysalis's gaze softened, surprising the changeling captain. "Very well, then Captain. I'll follow your recommendations on one condition."

Raspian tentatively looked at the changeling queen that stood over him. "What is that, your Majesty?"

Quick as a flash, Chrysalis swept Raspian's hooves from under him, causing the captain to fall onto his back. As swiftly as she had taken him down, Chrysalis lunged at Raspian's throat. Raspian closed his eyes and readied himself for the end. But it never came. He slowly opened his blue eyes to see Chrysalis's fangs that were mere millimeters from his neck.

"You ever question my authority again, I'll have to look for a new captain while my previous one is fed to the hive. Understand?" She whispered in a threatening tone.

Raspian gulped. "Y-yes, your M-Majesty." He said, tripping over his words in fear.

Chrysalis got up from her fallen captain and turned her back to him. "Good. Now I hope that those three call soon or I'm going to-" Chrysalis began, but was cut off by the sound a magical field. She turned around to see a green magical ball suspended in the air, casting a green light around the room.

"Finally, it's working!" A feminine voice from the ball said.

Raspian perked his ears at hearing the voice. "That's Cipha!" He exclaimed.

"Captain? Is that you?" A light male voice asked.

"Of course that's the captain, you dolt." A lower male voice responded.

"And that's Fang and Chassis." Raspian said dully after hearing Chassis's comment.

"Good. I've been waiting to hear from you three for the past couple days." Chrysalis said, staring into the talking magical ball.

"That's what I've been saying to them, your Majesty." Chassis's voice said. Raspian and Chrysalis rolled their eyes at his bootlicking. "I kept saying that you needed a report, but no. The others kept insisting on-"

"Chassis! Shut up and let the queen speak!" Raspian shouted to the changeling. Chrysalis gave Raspian a surprised look, then turned to the orb. "Ah, some silence at last. Now, what have you found?"

**Wow. I can't believe how long this has taken me. I'm really sorry about the long wait, guys. It's just been pretty hectic here at college and I've been busy with work. Hopefully I'll get a few more chapters out before the semester is over. After that, chapters will come much more frequently. Again, sorry about the wait and thanks for being patient!**

**-Alphadude**


	10. Chapter 10

**Before we get started, I'd like to thank you guys for following and reviewing this little project of mine. In regards to the reviews that I got from the guest(s) that reviewed it, thanks for the comments and I will fix some of the errors I've made in previous chapters once I finish the fic. As for the followers and those that favorited the fic, thanks for your support and patience between chapters. I'll make sure to get more chapters out more frequently in the next couple months. Hope you enjoy this chapter!**

Guardians of Light: A Shadow Forms

Chapter 10

-12 Hoofington Road, Ponyville-

Three changelings stood in the atrium of the room of their rental house, a large green magical ball levitating in the middle of them.

"Ah, some silence at last. Now, what have you found." The queen's voice sounded from the magical green orb that floated before the three changelings. Fang's horn glowed a bright green as he maintained the communication spell.

Cipha was the first to speak. "We have rented a place of residence in Ponyville, your Majesty. We'll have five days to find a suitable magic wielder."

"Five days?!" Chrysalis's voice shrieked from the green ball, her voice bouncing off the wood floors and walls.

"We'll find one before those days are up, Highness." Fang said, trying to be quick to ease the queen's worries.

"I trust you'll be efficient, but please hurry." Raspian's voice said. Fang thought he had heard a hint of shaking in his voice in the latter part of the sentence, but dismissed it.

"Of course we'll be efficient, captain." Chassis chimed in. "Why, we'll be so efficient that we'll be done by the third day!" he beamed. Fang gawked at Chassis as Cipha grit her fangs and glared daggers at the presumptuous changeling.

"Three days? Hmm. I'll have to take your word for it, Chassis." The queen said with a hint of glee in her voice.

"We won't disappoint you, Highness. Now if we may take our leave, we have a unicorn to find." Cipha said through clenched teeth, still scowling at Chassis, who was still oblivious to her hate stare.

"Very well. Report back once you have the magic wielder." Chrysalis said, the green orb vanishing in a puff of smoke once she finished the sentence.

"Three days!?" Cipha screamed at Chassis. "Why is it that whenever you open your bucking mouth, you screw us over?"

Chassis gave her an indignant look. "Hey, it shouldn't be that hard to find a unicorn in an Equestrian town. I saw at least six on the way here."

"That doesn't mean you have to cut our time short because of convenience!" Fang joined Cipha.

"Convenient or not, we have time." Chassis said in an exasperated tone. "We have seventy-two hours to find a single unicorn that can use magic in the middle of the Equestrian nation. How hard can that be?" He said, ignoring the glares he was receiving.

Fang sighed. As much as he hated to admit it, Chassis was right. They had three days to find a single unicorn. It wouldn't be too much hassle, but still. It didn't mean Chassis should kiss the queen's hooves and derail their efforts every time they spoke. _Just three days. Hmm. I guess I should enjoy it here while I work anyways._

"You know, you're right." Fang said, giving Chassis a smile.

"What?" Chassis and Cipha both asked in amazed tones.

"Yeah. We have three days to find one unicorn. We don't need to rush things." Fang said.

"What about our brothers and sisters that starve and die each day we don't find this unicorn? What would they say if they knew what we were doing?" Cipha objected. Now that she mentioned it, Fang felt a pang of guilt hit him in the stomach. True, the hive's food was depleted and changelings were dying each day.

"But think about it, Cipha." Chassis said, putting a holed hoof over her shoulders. Cipha gave Chassis an annoyed look as he spoke. "All our lives we have known sadness, loss, and uncertainty. Why not experience something different for a couple days? If there's an opportunity to rid myself of that cave's depression, I'm all for it. So whatcha say?"

Cipha shoved Chassis's hoof off her shoulder and walked to a circular window on the other side of the room. She looked out at all the ponies going about their daily business. Foals and fillies played, happy customers left richly stocked carts and stands, and ponies sat at tables eating and drinking while conversing with themselves.

_True, it is different here. This isn't at all like the sadness and hunger in the hive. It's… happier._ She thought. Her annoyed look soon shifted to one of curiosity. _There must be so much to do. Eat delicious food, play games, not having to worry about being the hive's next sacrifice._ She closed her eyes and gave a defeated sigh.

"Fine. We can take things slowly for three days. But focus on the mission. We need that unicorn." Cipha said, her horn glowing green. A green blaze shifted across her figure, starting from the hind legs and tail. The shift moved along her body, changing her fur and mane from black and green to cinnamon brown and khaki. A pair of similarly colored wings appeared on her back. The final green shift was over her eyes, which changed from blue to burnt orange. Before Chassis and Fang stood Palm Spring.

Chassis and Fang looked at each other and nodded. Their horns glowed a bright green as a similar green shift appeared.

Chassis's figure changed from a large black furred and blue maned changeling to a large earth pony stallion with black fur, ice blue eyes and a silver mane. On his flank was a large silver star.

Fang's figure changed from a skinny black furred and green maned changeling to a short earth pony with light blue fur and dark red eyes and mane. On his flank was a spinning tire with flames coming from the back.

Now before Cipha stood Silver Star and Speedy Delivery.

"So then, Palm Spring, shall we?" Speedy asked the brown pegasus mare.

"Let's." She said with a smile. The three changelings walked to the wooden door of their house and Speedy opened the door. As the three walked outside, their eyes widened as they caught their breath at the ponies they saw exiting the library from across the street.

-Ponyville Library-

"Where'd she go in such a hurry?" Spike wondered aloud as he scratched his head.

"Probably wherever Luna just went." Twilight deduced with a worried look on her face. _If the Princess had to go check up on Luna, it must be pretty urgent._ She thought.

Rainbow floated above the dragon and alicorn and regarded them with a concerned look. _See? Even your Princesses don't want to help get me out of your head._ The voice in her head taunted.

Gritting her teeth, Rainbow held her head in her hooves. "Shut up!" She shouted, causing Twilight and Spike to look up at her in surprise.

"We didn't say anything to you, Dash." Spike said, his annoyance at her outburst making itself clear through his voice.

"She wasn't talking to us, Spike." Twilight said, walking closer to her rainbow-maned friend. "What can you tell me about this voice, Dash?" Twilight asked. _If I'm going to try to get rid of this voice in her head, I want to know how it got there in the first place._ She thought.

"It appeared after my nightmare last night. It hasn't stopped talking since." Rainbow said. _You think I'm here simply to talk your ear off?_ The voice asked in an irritated tone. _Please, Element of Loyalty. I am here for a much grander purpose._

"And what might that be?" Rainbow asked, turning her head to the side to indicate that she wasn't talking to her confused friends below.

_Tsk tsk. Now that wouldn't make this as much fun if I just came out and told you what was going to happen._ The voice said in a mocking tone. Now Rainbow was getting annoyed.

"Well if you have something to say, just say it!" She exclaimed.

_Straight to the point, are we? Very well. Listen to my words and remember them well, Rainbow Dash, because I won't be saying them again._ The voice said. Rainbow nodded.

Time seemed to slow around her. The second hand on the clock on the wall slowed to a near stop. Sound faded out to where Rainbow couldn't hear anything but the voice in her head. Her vision began to fade to black as the images of Twilight, Spike, and the library began to darken. Soon, she couldn't see or hear anything.

Suddenly, a deep voice boomed all around her. "My message is this:

"From the mountains of the frozen north,

An ancient shadow shall come forth.

The sun will set on Canterlot,

A sacrifice that won't be for naught.

The six will become eight,

And this world's path they will dictate.

To herald a new dawn,

Or revive an evil once foregone."

As soon as the voice said the last sentence, Dash's vision and hearing began to return. She found herself lying on the ground of the library, a sore pain in her right side. Above her stood a worried Twilight and Spike.

"Oh good, you're awake." Twilight said with a sigh of relief. "One second you were hovering in midair then the next you dropped as if your wings stopped working."

"Yeah. What happened, Dash?" Spike asked, extending a clawed hand to help Rainbow get up. Dash reached for Spike's hand and took it as he helped her get off the ground.

Rainbow paused for a few moments. "The voice… it's gone!" she said with glee, but her happiness faded as she remembered what it had told her.

Twilight tilted her head and gave a confused look. "That's it? It just vanished?" She asked.

"Not exactly. When I was flying up there, it told me something. Some sort of weird rhyme." Dash said.

Twilight's eyebrow rose at this. "What did it say?" Rainbow told Twilight the riddle that the voice had said to her. "It sounds like some sort of prophecy. Did it say anything else?" the purple alicorn asked.

Rainbow shook her head. "Nope. That's it."

"What does it mean, though?" Spike asked, putting a hand on his chin.

"From out of the frozen north, an ancient shadow shall come forth." Twilight reiterated the first rhyme, trying to contemplate its meaning. "Could it be talking about the Crystal Empire? Save for the capital city, it's a mountainous and frozen wasteland."

"Could be." Rainbow agreed. "But "The sun will set on Canterlot". What does that mean? The sun sets all the time when Celestia lowers it each day." She asked, narrowing her eyes in thought.

"I don't know. Maybe we should ask the Princesses about this." Spike suggested.

"I could teleport us there if I knew where they were." Twilight said, somewhat agitated at her mentor's sudden disappearance.

"Maybe we should get the others. "The six will become eight" is what the voice said. Could that mean the Elements of Harmony." Rainbow said.

"It could be. But how can we gain two more elements? There aren't any other elements that we know of." Twilight said, concerned over this particular rhyme.

"Whatever it means, it concerns the rest of us as a whole. We need to bring this up with the others." Rainbow said, a determined look on her face.

"I agree. Let's go, guys. We have some Elements to find." Twilight said, her horn lighting up a bright purple. The door to the library flung open as the three ran out of the library. Their search for the elements was halted abruptly, however, as a white and purple blur ran into them on their way out the door. Twilight, Spike, and the incoming object hit the floor as they collided. Rainbow looked on the three in concern from her flying viewpoint.

Rubbing her head, Twilight looked up to see a disheveled Rarity laying on the floor in the doorway, a bruise developing on her forehead below her horn. "Rarity? What was that about?"

Rarity got back up and shook her head. "Twilight? Where is Spike?" she asked anxiously.

"Down here." Spike raised a clawed hand, drawing Rarity's attention. Her eyes widened as she saw the baby dragon before her. Immediately, she scooped up Spike and gave him a big hug. "Woah! Uh… everything okay, Rarity?" He asked. Normally he would be happy to receive a hug from his crush, but he sensed that something wasn't right with her.

"Oh Spike! You're okay! I swear on Celestia's sun that I'll never take you for granted ever again!" She cried. He returned the hug and tried to calm her down.

"It's alright, Rarity." He said in a soothing tone, but to no avail.

"No it's not! What I saw in that dream will never happen! I swear it!" She shouted, tears beginning to form in her eyes. Rainbow Dash and Twilight could only watch with concern as Rarity began to break down in front of Spike.

Spike's eyes widened at the mention of a dream. "Wait, you had a dream? So did I! What was it about?"

This caught Twilight's attention. "You two had dreams last night too?" She asked, raising a tentative hoof.

"Yes and it was horrid! I haven't had a terror like that in my life!" Rarity exclaimed, turning her head to see her purple alicorn friend while still hugging Spike.

"What was your dream about?" Spike asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It was terrible! I can't say it!" Rarity cried, burying her face into Spike's chest.

Spike put a claw to his chin. "Was it about me?" He felt Rarity's face making an up and down motion on his scales. _That's a yes._ He thought as he asked a second question. "Were there mountains of gems everywhere?"

At this, Rarity took her face from Spike and looked him in the eyes. "Yes. There were." She said in a shocked tone. "So did we… share a dream?" She asked.

"I think we did." Spike said, sounding just as shocked as she was. He then looked down at her and looked into her deep blue eyes. "But I promise I'll never become like that monster. If my greed can make me do… that." Spike said with a shudder at the memory of what he did to Rarity in the dream. "Then I'll never indulge my greed ever again." He said, confidence in his promise filled his voice.

Hearing these words, a big smile found its way onto Rarity's face. She stood back up above Spike and embraced him again. "And I shall never covet again, Spike. I always took advantage of your generosity and used it to my benefit. But no more!" She said happily.

Twilight smiled at the embrace her two friends were sharing. _But how can two individuals share a dream? Is that even possible?_ She thought. In all her years of study in magic, she never knew such a thing could happen. This brought a new wave of concerns to her mind, but she pushed them back. They still had to find the other three element bearers.

Twilight cleared her throat. Rarity and Spike opened their eyes and looked at Twilight, reluctantly separating from each other. "I hate to break up this little moment, but we still need to find the other elements."

Rarity put on a confused look. "Did I miss something?" She asked, looking up at the hovering Rainbow above her.

"We'll catch you up on the way. Where should we go first?" Rainbow asked Twilight.

"We should go find Fluttershy first. Knowing her, she's probably terrified of leaving her bed right now." She said, concern beginning to grow for her yellow pegasus friend.

"Well what are we waiting for? Let's go get her!" Rainbow exclaimed, shooting out the open door and into the blue Ponyville sky. Twilight, Rarity, and Spike all followed suit and ran out of the library, determined to help their demure friend.

As Twilight ran out of her library, she noticed three ponies across the street. Two earth pony stallions, a black one and a sky blue one, and a brown pegasus mare. Their mouths were agape at her and their eyes were as wide as dinner plates. _What's their problem?_ She thought, but shrugged off the thought. _No! I need to find Fluttershy._ She thought, resuming her mission to find Fluttershy and the others.

-Across the street from the Ponyville Library, Ponyville-

"Was that who I think it was?" Speedy Delivery asked, a surprised look on his face.

"I think it was." Palm Spring responded, her face mirroring that of Speedy's.

"I recognize that purple pony anywhere. She was one of the ponies in Canterlot when we tried to take over. Except now she's got… wings?" Silver Star asked in a confused tone as the memories of the failed Canterlot attack came back to the front of his mind.

"So one of the Elements of Harmony is here." Palm said with a tone of dread. "Great. We'll have to be more careful around here then." She said. The other two nodded in agreement.


	11. Chapter 11

**Guardians of Light: A Shadow Forms**

**Chapter 11**

-Hall of the Guardians, beneath the desert of Saddle Arabia-

_What is this that I feel?_ The cloaked figure thought, looking up at the Saddle Arabian night sky through the circular hole in the ceiling of the cave. Bright stars and a full moon filled the night sky, casting a bright silver glow through the hole, illuminating the hall atrium below with a soft light.

The cloaked figure looked down at the sand beneath him. _I haven't felt this way in a very long time. Not since…_ His thoughts trailed off, his mind taking him back a thousand years in the past. The falls of King Sombra and Princess Luna, the rise of Celestia, the Banishment, the Mare in the Moon… it all came back as clear as the sky above him.

_Hmm. But how can it still be here? That monster was destroyed… unless they used the Elements. If they did, that would solve many questions, yet create more conundrums._ The cloaked figure thought as he began to pace along the sandy floor, his black cloak dragging behind him.

_However, Starswirl's prophecy must be completed. _The figure reminded itself, memories of the unicorn magician coming back to its mind.

The figure looked up at the sky above him, remembering the prophecy.

"From out of the frozen north, an ancient evil shall come forth." He said in a gravely tone, uttering the first two lines of the prophecy. _The first lines are about to be completed._ The figure thought, closing its purple eyes in sorrow for what will occur.

_The ancient Shadow has returned. The Guardians must be awoken, lest this world will be plunged into darkness._ It thought, turning to face the atrium wall to its left. On it hung four of tapestries, each one telling tales of great things the Guardians did and the evils they fought.

The first one depicted four ponies, a unicorn, a pegasus, and two earth ponies, each having a veiled edge on a front hoof. The second showed a great black dragon and one unicorn holding a scroll using its magic. The third showed two pegasi. One wielded a spear while the other had a veiled edge. Behind the pegasi were five griffons. Each was a tale of heroism, sacrifice, and honor.

Three of the four tapestries had already happened. The fourth and final one had yet to occur. The final tapestry depicted a red banner with the same symbol as the one that represented the Elements of Harmony, except the colorful jewels of each Element were not present. It was only the circle with eight arrows in gold thread, the background of the Elements symbol.

The signs were there. Pieces of an ancient puzzle were falling into place. The Great Infamy was coming. Taking a deep breath, the figure let out a mournful sigh and said, "This is the last one."

-Starswirl the Bearded Wing of the Canterlot Archives-

Luna and Celestia ran about the archives, looking from book to book to find the one particular book that would solve their dilemma. They'd been from the arcane enchantment section to the alchemy section to Starswirl's personal library and everything in between.

"This is hopeless!" Luna exasperated as she began her search through the Enchantment section.

"Just keep looking! I'm sure his journal is here somewhere!" Celestia shouted from Astrology. Even though she wouldn't admit it, Celestia had no idea where Starswirl would have put his journal.

Just as Luna was looking through the section on enchanting inanimate objects, a low laugh sounded from the ceiling above. It didn't sound threatening, but Luna looked up just to make sure. Instead of seeing an intruder, she stared at just the purple painted wall with random designs put up in gold lace that swirled around.

"Tia? Did you hear that?" Luna asked from across the library wing.

_I recognize that laugh anywhere._ Celestia though with a heavy sigh. "Yes, I heard it!" Celestia called back, walking towards the center of the library where a large hourglass stood in the middle of the room.

Standing next to the hourglass, Celestia looked up at the ceiling. "Discord! I know you're here! Now come out and stop messing around!" Celestia shouted at the ceiling where a large skylight was above the hourglass.

"No need to shout at the ceiling, Celestia. I'm down here." Discord's voice sounded from below her as Celestia looked down at the floor. There, with a stupid grin on his face, was the embodiment of chaos himself, or at least his head. Discord's horned head was poking out of the floor, looking up at her. "And might I say, you look lovely from this angle. It really captures your regality." He commented. Celestia regarded Discord's head with a look of annoyance.

"Stop fooling around, Discord. Come up here." Celestia said irritably.

Discord's grin faded and was replaced with a pout. "Oh fine, Celestia. Ruin my fun, why don't you?" He said, his head disappearing in a white flash and his full body reappearing in front of the sun goddess.

"What's going on over-? Discord?" Luna began to question but then was taken by surprise at Discord's appearance.

"Oh and hello to you, Luna. What are you two doing here? I wouldn't have taken you two to be the bookworm types. That's more Twilight's job." He said, folding his arms with an amused smirk on his face.

"We could ask you the same thing." Luna said warily to the spirit of chaos. Discord's snake tail flicked in irritation of her dodging the question.

"What? A draconequus can't stretch his legs around here by going for a stroll?" He asked. As he said "stretch" both his goat and dragon legs extended to four times their normal length. Luna had a surprised look on her face at Discord's little joke, but Celestia was in no mood for jokes.

"Actually this does concern my loyal student in a way." Celestia said, barely holding back her anger. "We received a letter from her assistant, Spike, asking for help and we arrived to see her in a comatose state."

Discord's eyebrows rose as his legs shortened to their normal length. "Well that doesn't sound very good. You don't think I had anything to do with it, do you?"

"Should we think it was you?" Celestia asked, staring down the draconquus.

At this Discord chuckled. "Me? Do any harm to the Elements of Harmony a second time? Yes, I'm sure we all remember how that went over for me." He spoke in a bitter tone as he folded his arms indignantly. Being trapped in stone for a thousand years and then some after being set loose and captured again a couple years ago, Discord had nurtured a small grudge against the solar princess but kept it under control.

Celestia had to admit to herself that even Discord knew when to not push boundaries too far. She sighed and began to describe the state of her pupil when she saw her. "Well concerning my student, she seemed to be under some sort of trance. She was lying on the floor, her eyes were a bright yellow-"

"Stop right there." Discord said, putting a lion paw in Celestia's face. Normally she would have been outraged that he had done such a thing to a princess, but Celestia was too focused on helping Twilight to care. Discord leaned down to look the sun goddess in the eyes. "Did you just say bright yellow?" Discord asked, his voice sounded cautious.

"Yes. What is it to you?" Luna said, answering his question for her sister.

"Bright yellow with slit pupils?" Discord asked, pushing for details.

Shoving away Discord's paw, Celestia answered. "Yes. Why do you ask?"

Discord sighed. "Then I know why you are here. You seek Starswirl's journal." He said, pointing a clawed finger at the two celestial sisters. _They seek his journal. If they are, then that means… Oh buck._ He thought, his eyes widening at the conclusion to his thoughts.

"Yes. Do you know where it is?" Luna asked, raising a tentative hoof.

"I do." Discord said in a grave tone. Celestia was surprised at Discord's sudden lack of silliness that he usually had.

"Well where is it?" Celestia asked. Discord's mouth changed from a frown to a slight smile. _Aw ponyfeathers, he's not going to make this easy is he? _Celestia thought.

"I'll tell you two, but I'll tell you my way." He said with a grin, disappearing in a white flash.

"What you desire is below the castle, a feat not very facile." Discord's voice sounded, echoing off the archive walls. Celestia and Luna looked around the room, looking for the source of the voice.

"There you will find the wizard in the case, Starswirl's final resting place." Discord said again, this time his voice coming from a single source. The two sisters looked to the hourglass to see Discord in the bottom of the glass, holding his hand out to catch the falling sands.

"But be warned that when the mountains chime," Discord said, turning his hand to let the sand grains slowly fall to the hourglass bottom "You will be out of time." He said, finishing his riddle as the last of the sand in his hand poured onto the bottom of the glass. With a white flash, Discord disappeared from the hourglass and from the library all together.

"So the journal is in Starswirl's final resting place beneath the castle?" Luna asked.

Celestia turned to face her sister. "Yes, but getting there won't be easy. The way is riddled with traps to avoid grave robbers from getting to it."

Luna put on a determined look. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go get it." She said, turning to leave, but Celestia held her back with a hoof on the shoulder.

"We can't. The way can only be opened by a full moon. When is the next full moon?" Celestia said. Luna's confidence dropped at hearing this.

"I believe the moon will be at its fullest in three days time." Luna said, holding a hoof to her chin. "So that means we just have to sit here and wait?" She asked in an exasperated tone.

"Not entirely." Celestia said. "We will wait, but we will be ready for when the time comes."

Luna turned and looked at the hourglass, staring angrily into her reflection. "Well this is just great!" Luna shouted. She looked back at Celestia. "That ancient monster could come back at any time during those three days and we can't do anything about it."

"That's why we'll make ourselves ready for when that time comes." The sun goddess said in a determined tone. Warn the guards to be extra alert and open the armories. Tomorrow, we make ready for the Shadow's return, whenever it may be."

-A cloud hovering outside the Canterlot Archives-

Discord lay on his stomach, watching the two sisters through the library's skylight. The fluff of the cloud on his stomach did nothing to help him feel any better. _He is about to return. _Discord thought, looking down on the Canterlot streets below. Ponies bustled about to and fro, each one carrying out his or her business. Some shopped, others ate at the cafés, and others rode in carriages down the street.

Discord looked sadly on the equines below and sighed. _These poor ponies. They don't know what's about to happen._ He thought. Having ruled over the land of Equestria once, he knew what it felt like to have total control over them. But the chaos that he wrought on them during that time would be mere child's play compared to what the Ancient One would do.

Discord had seen what the Ancient One could do, what suffering he could bring about on the land. The simple thought of what he did made Discord shudder.

Putting on a determined face, Discord stood up on the cloud. _Well if he's coming back, I know just who to warn. _He thought, disappearing in a white flash.

-The Great Hall, sky above disputed Western and Eastern Griffon territory-

The Great Hall stood proud in the sky. The tall building was constructed on the clouds above the very center of the once mighty Griffon kingdom, now split between East and West. The Great Hall stood as a large square, stone walls surrounding the perimeter and towers on all corners. Griffon guards in iron armor patrolled the walls and courtyard below, ready to attack any threat that made itself present. Inside the walls and defensive towers was a bronze four-sided pyramid, each side facing a cardinal direction. The sunlight made the bronze cast orange reflections all around the courtyard and along the walls. On the northern side of the pyramid was a flight of stairs that led to a large doorway. Behind the door was the atrium of the Great Hall where the delegates of East and West debated.

Griffons from both sides of the border exchanged verbal blows, their angry voices bouncing off the bronze walls of the pyramid. In the middle of the pyramid sat a large square wooden table. On each side, six griffons sat. There were twelve from the West, twelve from the East, each sitting down to try to hammer out a compromise. However, personal agendas and grudges couldn't be pushed aside for such a thing like compromise to exist.

"So, Chancellor, where is your pony princess to help settle this little dilemma?" Asked a griffon with a black-feathered head and brown fur on his body. This was the Eastern Minister of Commerce, Golden Claw, asked.

"She will be along. I trust in Princess Celestia's delegation techniques and she won't disappoint now." Retorted a griffon with brown feathers and grey fur. This griffon was the Western Chancellor, Solaris Cloudrunner. Being chancellor of the Western Kingdom, he was second to only the king himself.

"But where is she now?" A yellow-feathered griffon with brown fur asked in a venomous tone. This griffon was Sharp Beak, the Eastern Minister of the Media. "Once again it seems the ponies are all talk and no action."

"Well that's a lot coming from you, Minister Beak!" Shouted a griffon a white-feather head and black fur. This griffon was Senator Aeris from the city of Dayguard. "Why don't you go back to your cage and squawk to the masses you canary!"

At this, every griffon got up from their seats and began yelling at each other. Eastern and Western griffons yelled verbal abuse at each side with random insults being flung every which way.

However, there was one griffon that hadn't gotten into the fray. _Such is the way of modern griffonian politics._ The griffon thought with a sigh. _How our forefathers would weep at seeing such a spectacle._ This griffon had black fur and yellow ochre feathers on his head. This griffon was Cloudius Sky-Shield, last living descendant of the respected Sky-Shield bloodline. Being in an honorable and ancient bloodline, as well as having combative and tactical prowess, he was held in charge of the military in the Western kingdom.

Cloudius watched as the delegates from both kingdoms yelled at each other, their arguments and shouts becoming the norm for these meetings. Sure they'd start out like a normal delegation meeting, but eventually, words would get thrown around and prides would get hurt. It was like watching two children fight over a toy, the toy being usually resources or boundary lines.

Cloudius sighed and reached for a dagger that lay in its sheath on the left side of his torso. Discreetly pulling out the knife with a clawed right hand, he decided that enough was enough.

Raising the dagger high, Cloudius slammed the dagger into the wooden table, making a loud_ THUNK_ as the steel of the knife connected with the hard wood of the table.

Hearing this sound, the other delegates looked in shock at Cloudius. In front of him was a steel blade with a gold hilt buried into the table. This alarmed several of the guards in the room as well, each unsheathing swords or readying spears at hearing the sound of metal hitting wood. But after seeing it was one of the delegates, they put their weapons back in their original places.

"Is this what we've become?" Cloudius asked angrily to the other delegates. "Have we become so prideful and stupid that we can't decide on anything anymore?"

"We have these meetings to try to do just what you said, deciding." Solaris said.

Cloudius snorted. "Give it a rest, Chancellor. The only thing that has been decided on here is how to best insult each other instead of actually trying to help our fellow griffons!" he shouted to the delegates.

Golden Claw spoke up. "That's what we try to do. It's just that some griffons don't want us to find compromise." He said, darting his eyes over to the Western delegates.

"We could find compromise if your pride wouldn't get hurt every time we open our beaks!" A Western delegate shouted. And once again, things descended into chaos and insults.

Cloudius sunk back into his seat and looked incredulously at the other delegates. _Are you serious?_ He thought, sighing and putting his head in his claws. Taking his head out of his claws, he reached for the dagger he stabbed the table with and with a hard pull, withdrew the blade from the wood.

Up above the delegates, resting on the ceiling, a pair of bright yellow eyes watched the bickering griffons below. The yellow eyes watched as East and West fought amongst each other. If the observing eyes had a mouth, it would be smiling right now. _Such petty arguing. Working these birdbrains into my plan will be easier than I originally thought._ The creature thought, closing its eyes and disappearing from the pyramid, leaving the delegates to their insults.


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's note: Hey there, Fanfiction! Sorry about the wait, but my exams, sinus infection, and summer course preparations are done! As a result, I am now finally able to write and upload this chapter. Also, I'll be accepting OC's for crystal ponies and royal guards until the 3****rd**** of June. Leave a comment that describes their appearance and name and I'll make sure to put them into the story. So after twenty days of waiting, here is Chapter 12! Hope you guys enjoy!**

**Guardians of Light: A Shadow Forms**

**Chapter 12**

-Fillydelphia: 1,000 years before Nightmare Moon's return-

Luna looked around the Fillydelphia Town Square. Everything she saw was for her sister. Banners depicting the sun hung on various street lamps above the cobblestone walkways. Ponies sold Summer Sun Celebration memorabilia at the stands they had up for the event. Even the little colts and fillies had drawn solar illustrations on their faces and sides using face paint.

Luna should have felt happy for her sister. Happy that Celestia was having her moment in the sun as a ruler. Yet all she felt was bitterness.

_Why do I feel this way?_ Luna pondered, putting on a happy face to mask her inner jealousy. _Why am I not proud of my sister? _To these questions, a small lingering voice in her head was telling her the answers.

_Because she gets all the credit! Why do our subjects not appreciate the night as they do the day?_ Luna thought angrily. _Why is it that whenever she-_ Luna began to think but was cut off as Celestia interrupted her line of thought.

"Is this not a grand day, Luna?" Celestia said with a proud look on her face as a pair of pegasi hung an orange banner with a big yellow sun emblazoned in the middle onto one of the street lamps.

_Grand day, indeed._ Luna thought as she gave her sister a warm smile. "Aye, dear sister. 'Tis a splendid day." She said, barely managing to not clench her teeth.

Failing to see her sister's façade, Celestia continued to watch the festivities unfold.

Luna turned her head away from her sister's gleeful look. The conflict she felt inside her made Luna want to scream but was held back by public circumstances.

_This celebration is such a waste of time! Why would- _Luna thought, but caught the eyes of two young fillies that were staring at her. One had yellow fur, fuchsia eyes, and a curly mane that was the same color of her eyes. The other had sky blue fur, sea green eyes, and a rather unkempt mane that were the same shade of green as her eyes.

The yellow one leaned over to her blue friend's ear. "The princess is looking back at us!" She said in a hushed shout, trying to vainly mask her fear of the moon princess.

"This idea was thine own! Go and speak to her!" The light blue filly responded in the same manner.

A small grin appeared on Luna's face. "If thou wish to speak to me, then by all means continue with your scheme." She said in an authoritative, yet humorous voice while still keeping a smile.

The yellow one took a few tentative steps forward and bowed low to the ground. She looked up at the princess on the platform and spoke. "Princess of the Night, I, your humble subject, wish to make a request."

"State this request. And thou may rise, young filly." Luna said, gesturing her hoof in an upwards direction to the brave filly. Celestia had taken notice of this and looked at Luna and the fillies. She gave a thoughtful smile to the fillies as the yellow one stood back up.

The yellow filly gestured to her sky blue friend. "My friend, Sea Shine, has not been sleeping well in days past." The filly said, getting a concerned look from Luna. "She keeps having these terrors in the night. She tells of a yellow-eyed monster that attacks her in her dreams. She hath gone to local physicians and doctors, but nothing has been done to banish this terror from her mind. So this is my request. Princess of the Night, could thou makest the night peaceful for my friend once again?"

Luna gave a compassionate smile and nodded. "I shall see to it that this nightmare shall occur no longer. I know of Sea Shine's name, but who art thou, my brave little filly?" She asked.

"Morning Bloom, your Highness." The filly said.

"Morning Bloom, thy request shall be granted. Sea Shine shall endure this nightmare no more." Luna said with a grin.

A large smile broke onto Morning's face as she galloped back to her friend and embraced her.

Luna looked on the sign of affection with a smile.

Celestia looked to Luna. "Thou art as kind as thou art hard-working, Luna." Celestia said with a proud smile.

Luna gave her sister a genuine smile for the first time that day. _Maybe I am not as unappreciated as I thought I was. I was wrong to harbor such jealous thoughts. Should I tell her what I was going through today? I think I shall tell Celestia right now. She'll understand._ Luna thought, opening her mouth to speak, but was cut off by a loud rumble.

Suddenly, a great tremor rocked the town square. Luna and Celestia almost lost their footing on the platform as ponies began to flee in terror. Carts that sold Summer Sun Celebration merchandise were turned over, causing their contents to spill onto the street. Streetlamps that once proudly displayed symbols of the sun began to sway, some already toppled over from the shaking.

Celestia, while trying to keep her footing on the platform, looked upon her destroyed celebration site. Celestia had a sad look on her face as she watched the once proud Summer Sun Celebration become a ruined mess. However, mourning the celebration would have to wait.

"Tia! We cannot stay here for much longer!" Luna shouted, the platform's support beams almost giving way from the quakes.

"I agree! Jump!" Celestia replied, leaping off the platform with Luna close behind. As they got closer to the ground, Luna and Celestia extended their wings, slowing their descent. They lightly landed on the cobblestone, a platoon of royal guards immediately going to the princesses to protect them.

"Do not worry about us! Go help our subjects!" Celestia ordered the guards. A few gave each other concerned looks, but they complied nonetheless. They took off in every direction, looking for ponies in need of their help.

A loud creaking caused both royal sisters to snap their heads around. Behind them, the platform, on which they were standing on mere seconds ago, was collapsing around them. Luna and Celestia immediately took off in a full gallop away from the falling structure, beams of wood beginning to crash around them. Splinters flew, wood shattered, and support beams fell to the ground where the two alicorns had been standing moments ago.

Luna, still trying to maintain a proper footing, looked to her sister. "What is happening?" She shouted over the rumblings.

"I do not know!" Celestia shouted back, the rumblings causing her hooves to shake as well. What happened next, surprised them both.

Down the middle of the cobblestone plaza, the rumblings caused a large crevasse to split the town square in two. Out of the crevasse, a large black rock shot out, displaying itself proudly as a macabre monolith amongst the destruction. Even though the ground was shaking, Celestia could clearly tell that it wasn't just any rock that had come up from under the ground. _Crystal?_ She thought. _What could that mean?_

Almost as soon as she finished the thought, the quakes began to settle down until no tremors remained. What was once the site-to-be of the Summer Sun Celebration was now a ruined plaza with ruined shops, toppled streetlamps, and a large black crystal in the middle.

"What was that all about?" Luna asked, now having to get used to the ground not shaking under her hooves.

"I do not know." Celestia said, narrowing her eyes at the crystal. "But I do know somepony that might."

Luna snapped her head in her sister's direction and gave her an incredulous look. "Tia, you can't be serious. That old coot is on the border of senility."

Celestia gave her sister an indignant look. "That old coot may be the only one that knows what caused this disaster. Besides that, he is our oldest and most trusted advisor. It would be foolishness to not ask for his advice." Celestia said sternly.

Luna pondered this for a moment, then gave a defeated sigh. "Fine. We will go to him." She said, her horn glowing a deep blue.

"Thou knowest where he is?" Celestia asked, making sure Luna knew where she was about to go.

"Where he always is." Luna said, her horn's light glowing brighter until she vanished in a flash of blue light.

Celestia took one last look at the ruined town square as her horn began to glow yellow. The solar princess sighed as she looked at all the ruined work that her subjects had tried to do for her. _Ponies are resilient creatures. We will fix this in time for the celebration._ She thought, her horn's light glowing brighter. With a flash of yellow light, Celestia vanished.

-Canterlot Archives: 1,000 years before Nightmare Moon's return-

"This is certainly intriguing." Clover the Clever wondered aloud as he read a passage from _A Brief History on the Second Age of the Griffon Kingdom_.

Starswirl looked up from the tomes on his desk but kept his back to the curious unicorn. "What is so intriguing, my student?"

Clover put a hoof on a particular passage in the book. "It says here that 'during the reign of Discord, the griffons were able to see what he was doing to Equestria, but Discord never laid a claw on the Griffon Kingdom'. I am intrigued as to why Discord would prey on pony kind alone."

Starswirl turned to face his student and gave Clover a serious look. "To answer thy question, my student, I have a question for thee. How can we possibly know what goes on in the mind of one whose ways are impossible by our nature? Did that draconequus have private motivations for ruling only pony kind? Or was he preparing himself for a more widespread reign before he was made into the statue we see in the gardens to this day? We cannot know for certain. However, there are several reasons that we can see that may have influenced his decisions." Starswirl said, pausing to see if Clover had anything to comment on.

Clover simply sat there and listened with a risen eyebrow, taking in every word that came from his teacher's mouth.

Noticing that Clover had nothing to say yet, Starswirl continued. "Ever notice any differences between ponies and griffons, Clover?"

Clover seemed to snap out of a trance at the sound of his name. "Uh, um…" He stammered, trying to find an answer.

Starswirl's mouth cracked a smirk as he watched his student fumble with his words. "One of the most notable differences is reaction to danger. Now based on what you've seen ponies do, what do they do when a disaster is about to occur?" Starswirl asked.

"They… panic?" Clover responded, tentatively suggesting his answer.

"Correct. They panic." Starswirl said, hearing Clover sigh with relief. "But what do the griffons do?" He asked, this time getting a befuddled look from his pupil. Knowing that Clover had not had any experience with their beaked neighbors to the east, Starswirl knew it would be an impossible question to answer.

"I do not know, sir." Clover said ashamedly.

Starswirl grinned. "It is okay to not know, Clover. It is impossible to know all things, yet this about the griffons you can know. When a disaster is about to occur, griffons do not panic like ponies do. They prepare themselves. Their troops form ranks and their civilians go to safehouses that were made ahead of time. So if a foreign power like Discord tried to invade, the attackers would have a much more difficult time trying to pry land away from the griffons than they would here in Equestria."

Clover nodded his head in agreement and gave his teacher a smile. "Now that does make much more sense. Thank you, Master Starswirl." He said in a thankful tone.

Starswirl waved it off. "It is what I am here for, Clover. No need to thank-" The dark blue unicorn began to say, but was cut off by a violent shaking.

The rumblings seemed to come from nowhere as books began to shake from their positions on all the various shelves. Ancient tomes, scripts, and notes all became at risk in an instant. Clover was having trouble finding his footing as a tome on astronomy fell to the ground next to his hooves.

"Save the ancient works! Do not let any harm come to them!" Starswirl shouted as he was shaken from his desk, grunting as he fell onto the floor with a thud.

Clover's horn glowed a silvery glow as he began to charge up a mass levitation spell. When he heard Starswirl hit the floor, his head turned to see his fallen teacher. "Master! Art thou all right?" Clover asked as he began to catch books in midair.

"I am fine!" Starswirl responded, trying to get his footing back, but the tremors prevented him from getting back onto his hooves.

"Is this an earthquake?" Clover asked, catching a late work by Trotting Hoof in the air.

"There are not any major fault lines near Canterlot that I know of!" Starswirl shouted from his prone state. He looked to his desk and saw a certain book about to fall. A white book with gold trim.

_NO!_ His mind shouted as his horn glowed a deep navy blue. Just as the book slipped off the desk, Starswirl caught it and levitated it into his hooves. He held the book close to his chest as the tremors began to intensify. Suddenly, a sharp black object protruded from the rock floor. Starswirl watched in amazement as the pointy object rose up to reveal a large black crystal that had shot up through the floor. It broke through the stone floor, leaving chunks of grey rock surrounding the proud black crystal as it stood in the center of the room.

_Crystal? How could that be here unless… oh no._ Starswirl thought as his eyes widened in horror at his revelation. He looked up at the black monolith as the shakings began to settle down. Soon, the quakes were but a memory. The present reality was a pair of two terrified unicorns, a few dozen books levitated in midair, a broken stone floor, and a large black crystal standing in the middle of the room.

Clover, using his magic, put all the books into stacks and set them on the ground. "Well that could have been worse." He said with a slight smile, trying to lighten the mood. However, this was neither the time nor place for jokes.

"Oh believe me, Clover. It is worse." Starswirl said gravely, still staring at the crystal.

Clover then looked at the crystal with a curious expression. "Where did this come from?"

"It came from-" Starswirl began to say, but was cut off by a bright blue flash of light behind him. He turned to see the Princess of the Night herself standing before him.

Both Starswirl and Clover knelt as Luna looked at the crystal. "It has happened here as well." She said in a mix of fear and awe.

"As well, princess?" Clover asked.

Luna opened her mouth to explain, but a bright yellow flash interrupted her. Celestia walked next to Luna and looked at the ruined state of the archives, notably the black crystal in the middle of the room. "Canterlot as well? How many other places were hit by these quakes?"

"So this quake was not just a local event?" Clover asked, still confused.

"Nay, my student. It was not. It was a quake that shook all of Equestria." Starswirl grimly said to the princesses.

Celestia's concern turned to anger. "Then what could have caused all this destruction to our lands?" She said, angry that all her subjects had been affected by the quakes.

"It was a realm far to the north. Make no mistake, Princesses. This was not an attack, but a message." Starswirl said, turning his head to the crystal.

"A message from who?" Luna asked.

Starswirl looked back to the princesses with a sorrowful look on his face. "The Crystal Empire."

"Crystal Empire? Master, does such a place exist?" Clover asked incredulously.

"I believe the evidence for its existence is more than substantial in today's case." Starswirl said, gesturing towards the crystal.

"Then what is this Crystal Empire." Celestia asked in a somewhat agitated tone.

"Come with me and Clover, princesses. We have much to discuss and I'm afraid that these archives are too unorganized to find the right source material." Starswirl said.

Celestia and Luna nodded as the two wizards began to show them the way out the archives. Just as Luna was about to leave, her ear twitched. She looked back in the direction of the strange noise and found the source to be the crystal. _That sound… is that… whispering?_ She wondered, curious to get closer to hear better.

"Princess Luna? Art thou still with us?" Starswirl asked from down the archives entrance hall.

Luna looked at the group of three. "Yes I am. Just catching my breath is all." This got a few confused looks, but they soon shrugged off their suspicions as Luna rejoined them.

-The Crystal Castle: 1,000 years before Nightmare Moon's return-

_He did it. That alicorn actually did it._ Sombra thought, a wide grin spread across his face. He looked down on the crystal ponies from his balcony, watching them carry out their daily activities. Some were carrying on with business as usual, yet others wore black cloaks over their heads to hide their crystal sparkle, an ancient crystal tradition when the death of somepony had occurred. News of the senators' deaths spread quickly throughout the empire, causing mass grief over demise of the politicians. The way the senators died had been very efficient and left no trace. A single stab wound in the throat while they slept. No witnesses of the acts and no traces of evidence were found. Almost all the Crystal Empire was shocked that anything so horrible as death could come to their peaceful capital. However, one unicorn in particular was unfazed by the deaths.

_They are finally out of the way. _Sombra thought, taking another look over his kingdom. The way the senaors died had been very efficient and left no trace. A single stab wound in the throat while they slept. No witnesses of the acts and no traces of evidence were found. The alicorn had been right. The Empire was now his. Completely, utterly his.

The smile on Sombra's face grew as his horn began to glow jet black. With a flash of dark purple light, Sombra disappeared from the balcony.

A burst of dark purple light caused the throne room's attendants to look toward the throne room's entrance in alarm. Before the attendants stood a dark grey unicorn with a red horn and green eyes with red irises, out of which a purple smoke seemed to pour. The attendants stepped back from the intruder in alarm.

"Be at peace, my subjects. Do you not recognize your king?" The intruder asked in a deep voice.

A few 'King Sombra?'s were heard from some of the attendants as looks of horror found themselves on the faces.

The dark king grinned. "Aye, 'tis me, my subjects." Sombra said, eyeing the crystal throne on the other side of the room. He slowly began walking towards it, a hungry look finding itself in his eyes.

A light blue crystal pony with a brown mane tentatively stepped forward. "Sire? Art thou well?"

Sombra gave the crystal pony with an amused chuckle. "Oh my dear Sapphire Shimmer, I have never felt better in my life!" He exclaimed, his evilly jubilant voice bouncing off the crystal walls.

"Well s-sire," Sapphire said, stammering in fear. "Is there anything y-you w-would like for us to d-do?"

Sombra halted his slow pacing towards the throne. He turned his head to look into Sapphire's eyes. Even though he was at least several meters away from the king, Sapphire could feel Sombra's eyes stare into his soul. He felt as if every shameful moment of his life had just been brought to light. His breath hitched as reminders of school bullies, early financial troubles, his parents' deaths, and every bad memory in his life was flashed before his eyes. Seeing all the memories at once was too much for the poor pony as he broke down and began sobbing. The other crystal ponies backed away from Sapphire in shock of his outburst and at Sombra's new power.

Sombra gave Sapphire a look of fake sympathy. "No need to mourn, Sapphire. This is a happy day. And on this happy day, I want all of you to go to the corners of the Empire and deliver a message to the people." He said, looking to the rest of the attendants. After seeing what just Sombra's gaze could do to Sapphire, the other ponies were quick to avert their gazes from him as Sombra gave his command. "Every crystal pony is to come to the castle courtyard. There I will issue a decree that will usher in a new and glorious era for the Crystal Empire." He said proudly.

The attendants, including Sapphire, were quick to leave the throne room. Within half a minute, Sombra had watched every pony had left the room. His gaze then turned back to the light purple crystal throne before him.

Sombra stepped up to the throne. The crystal throne that had held great kings and emperors was just about to have another occupant. The dark unicorn king placed his front hooves on the throne's arms and pulled himself into the seat. As soon as he sat in the throne, Sombra could feel the power coursing through his very being. The purple smoke that was emitting from Sombra's eyes began to travel upward, toward the top crystal of the throne. The smoke touched the crystal, immediately turning the purple crystal to a shiny black. The black from the top crystal snaked down the lengths of the throne, eventually turning the rest of it black.

As soon as the throne had turned black, a great tremor came from the throne, shaking the throne room. Sombra could feel the dark power going from him and into the throne, claiming it as his. Even though the room was shaking violently from the quakes, King Sombra began to chuckle. His chuckling soon turned to laughter, which soon turned to manic howls of laughter.

"It's mine! It's all mine!" Sombra shouted triumphantly, resuming his roaring laughter.

Sombra could feel the quakes in the throne room, but he knew the shaking wouldn't just be confined to the Crystal Empire. The tremors would travel across Equestria, letting every pony know that he was in control.

The yellow-eyed alicorn from Sombra's dream had been right. It was a new day, and nothing was going to be the same.


	13. Chapter 13

**Guardians of Light: A Shadow Forms**

**Chapter 13**

-Canterlot Castle: 1,000 years before Nightmare Moon's return-

_There must be at least a thousand books in this one room. _Luna wondered in bewilderment. Princess Luna looked around the interior of Starswirl the Bearded's private study. Shelves lined the walls of the circular room, books and tomes of every subject filling every square inch of the shelves. In the center of the room was a large oak desk that had clearly seen years of usage. On the old desk were stacks of papers and books that were based on various case studies and histories. Standing around the desk were two unicorns and two alicorns, all of whom seeking answers.

Starswirl turned to Clover. "Clover, fetch me _Ancient Kingdoms and Civilizations_." The dark blue unicorn ordered. With a quick nod of his head, Clover trotted to a bookshelf to his left and began searching for the requested work.

"Starswirl, thou speakest of a Crystal Empire." Princess Celesia asked in a concerned tone. "Where or what is this place?"

Starswirl turned back to the princess. "The Crystal Empire is a kingdom that lies past the northern mountains, Your Majesty. It is a land shrouded in mystery and secrecy." He replied as Clover pulled out a large grey book using his magic. A light green magical aura surrounded the book as Clover brought it over to his teacher and set it on the desk.

"_Ancient Kingdoms and Civilizations_, just as thou requested." Clover said, cancelling his levitation spell.

"Thank you, my pupil." Starswirl said as he opened the book and began flipping pages. The other ponies leaned in to get a closer look at the pages until their noses almost touched the old pages._ Now I cannot see what I am supposed to be reading._ Starswirl thought as he gave the others an annoyed look. Clover and the princesses backed away under Starswirl's gaze. _That's better._ The old mage thought, resuming his search for a particular passage.

"Master, should I search for other works on the subject?" Clover offered, seeing that his teacher was having trouble locating the passage he was looking for.

"Nay, Clover. I've almost- ah ha!" Starswirl exclaimed with a smile as he found the section on the Crystal Empire. Above a few paragraphs of information was a depiction of a blue heart-shaped crystal.

"Thou found it? What does it say?" Luna asked, both her and Celestia's faces showing surprise at Starswirl's outburst.

"These texts give a brief description of the Empire itself. There is a paragraph dedicated to each aspect. There is one on its magic, one on its history, and one on its culture. Should I read all of them or just one?" Starswirl asked the princesses.

"Read the passage on magic. I'm sure that section can shed some light on what happened today." Celestia said, thinking back to the earthquakes.

"Very well." Starswirl said, clearing his throat as he began to read. "What is known of the Crystal Empire's magic is very limited, but what has been recorded shows that the effects of its magic can be felt throughout the world." He said, earning a concerned look from the Celestia, but a curious look from Luna. Starswirl continued. "While normal crystal ponies cannot produce magic like unicorns do, they instead channel their magic into a collective pool of sorts where it is projected by a very powerful crystal known as the Crystal Heart."

"Is that the Crystal Heart?" Luna asked, pointing a hoof at the depiction of a blue heart in the page.

"It appears to be." Clover chimed in. "The book describes it as 'a torso-sized blue crystal that has been cut into the shape of a heart'."

"Yes, Clover. The book does say that, but it is what the crystal does that makes it interesting." Starswirl said, resuming his reading. "The next sentence reads, 'When the Empire is full of happiness and prosperity, the joy that is felt by the crystal ponies is projected all across the Empire and the lands to the south'."

"And these lands to the south would be Equestria? Intriguing." Celestia thought, bringing a hoof to her chin.

"Quite so, Princess. However, what this book says next may not bring such good news." Starswirl said, turning his eyes to the book again. "It reads, 'However, if fear and sadness take control of the populace, then those negative emotions are reflected across the lands in the same manner'."

"That still does not explain why black crystals shot up from under the ground. The book says emotions and feelings are spread out from the Empire, not rocks." Celestia said, narrowing her eyes. "I mean, how does one nation determine the mood of half the world? It would take a considerably large amount of magic to even try to do such a thing."

"Which is why we need to investigate." Luna said in a determined tone.

"I concur with Princess Luna." Clover chimed in. "Princesses, are any of thy scouts available to look into these strange occurrences?"

Celestia stepped forward. "I have a scout that has just returned from patrolling the eastern borders. She can be ready to depart at first light tomorrow morning."

"Excellent, Princess." Clover said enthusiastically. "Does this book say how far away the Crystal Empire is?" He asked, leaning his head to look at the book's text.

Starswirl nudged his student away from the book to read it again. After a brief scanning of the text, Starswirl spoke up. "Not specifically. All the book says is that the Empire lies beyond the northern mountains. It does not give any specific distances or travelling routes to get there. However, I'm sure that Her Majesty's scout can find a way there."

Princess Celestia smiled at the compliment. "She can. Shooting Star is one of the most effective and resourceful scouts that has stepped hoof in the barracks."

"Very well." Starswirl said to the princess and then turned to his student. "Clover, we shall see what we can find out amidst the ruined archives on the Empire." He said, turning back to the princesses. "We will report to you when we have found anything new."

"Very good, Starswirl." Celestia said, turning to her sister. "Come, Luna. We have work to do." She said, turning to walk out the door with Luna close in tow.

Once the princesses were gone, Starswirl turned to Clover. "Go into the archives and try to find anything and everything on the Crystal Empire. I will be with you shortly." He said, his horn glowing a dark blue.

"Thou art not coming, Master?" Clover asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I will, but I need to conduct my own research first." Starswirl replied, a burst of blue light flashed next to his head. As the light died down, Clover saw that Starswirl had just teleported a book of some kind into the room.

"I have not seen that book before. Is it a new addition?" Clover asked, leaning closer to get a good look at it. He noticed the white color of the book, the gold trim, and a pearl embedded in the center of the front cover.

"Somewhat. Like I said, I will be with thee shortly, Clover. Now go." Starswirl ordered.

Clover turned to leave and started walking out. As soon as Clover closed the rectangular wooden door behind him, Starswirl placed the white book on the desk and flipped it open.

"Book, can thou hearest me?" Starswirl asked in a nervous tone. His heart leapt when black ink began to scribble itself on the pages.

_Yes._ Read the book's first page.

Starswirl gave a sigh of relief. "Good. I need your help. Something has happened today and I do not know how to explain it."

_The great Starswirl the Bearded can't explain something? This must be serious indeed._ The book read. Even though it couldn't talk, Starswirl could feel the sarcasm dripping from the page. Starswirl narrowed his eyes and gave the book a stern look. "I'm serious. Something catastrophic has happened and I believe the Crystal Empire is involved."

_Well thy suspicions are correct. I know exactly what's happening in that northern empire. _

Starswirl's facial expression went from nervous to relieved. "You do? Thank Celestia. So what is happening in the Empire?"

Starswirl leaned in as the book's response was scribbled in. _For me to tell you exactly what is happening would be detrimental to your research. It would be like reading the end of a book. You don't know how the ending got there and it leaves you confused. In order to have the whole truth, you must have the whole story. And while telling you would be easy, it would be more effective to simply show you what this story entails._

Starswirl shifted in his seat to get comfortable. He let out a heavy sigh and gave the book a determined look. "Show me."

Celestia and Luna watched from the castle's balcony as the sun began to set. The setting sun cast an orange-red tint on everything, bathing Canterlot in a light sanguine.

"Where is Shooting Star right now?" Luna asked Celestia, not taking her eyes off the setting sun.

"She should be in the barracks. I'll have one of the guards notify her and brief her on her next mission." Celestia responded.

Both sisters watched as the sun slowly sank into the horizon, reflecting on what had occurred in the past couple hours. Both sisters silently watched the sun, taking in the silence of the end of the day.

After a couple minutes, Celestia spoke up. "Luna, art thou ready to raise the moon?"

Luna shook her head as if she snapped out of a trance. "Hmm? Oh. Yes, I am." She said, walking to the balcony's railing. Luna closed her eyes and began to concentrate.

Luna's horn glowed a deep blue as she felt a magical surge course throughout her body. The sights, sounds, and smells of Canterlot were drowned out as the image of the moon rising from the eastern horizon filled her mind. She squeezed her eyes shut and focused as hard as she could on the moon.

Her horn's blue light intensified until the blue light was almost blinding. Celestia looked to the east and saw the moon beginning to peek out from behind the eastern horizon. The hardest part was over. Now the moon could rise by itself now that the magical push Luna gave had propelled it into the sky.

Luna's spell faded as she opened her eyes and looked to her left to see the sun going down completely. Strangely, she felt a twist of happiness of seeing the sun go down while her moon rose behind her. She felt a sort of… power.

"Good job, sister. The moon has risen and it is nighttime once again." Celestia said with a weak smile as the sun's light completely faded, bringing Equestria into night.

Luna kept her back to Celestia as she stared at the horizon where the sun had sunk. "Indeed. The night has come again." Luna said with a slightly twisted grin on her face.

"Well, 'tis time to go to bed. I shall see thee in the morning, Luna." Celestia said, turning from the balcony edge and walking back into the castle.

Luna turned to see Celestia walking back into the castle and go towards her bedchambers. _Yes, sister. Nighttime has come once again._ Luna thought, her twisted grin becoming a smile. _And soon, the night will never end._ She thought, suddenly shaking her head.

_Where did that come from? _Luna thought, a look of shock and confusion finding itself on her face. Since when did she develop a rebellious streak? Where did this feeling of resentment come from?

"I need some sleep." She said, rubbing her muzzle with her hoof. She trotted back inside and headed to her bedchambers, her mind troubling her at what she had thought about on the balcony.

-Crystal Castle: 1,000 years before Nightmare Moon's return-

Sombra looked out the windows of the throne room. The moon had just risen and the Crystal Empire was going to sleep. Well, almost all the empire was sleeping.

"Why haven't they returned?!" Sombra roared angrily from his throne as the messenger beneath quaked in fear.

"I-I do not know, sire." Said a timid silver crystal pony with a straight light blue mane.

Sombra growled as he brought his tone to a dangerous low. "It has almost half a day." He said menacingly, narrowing his eyes at the nervous pony beneath him.

"I understand that, sire. I-It's just that they may have been f-frightened by your new a-appearance." The pink pony said, trying to soothe the king's anger.

Sombra's anger seemed to vanish for a moment as he looked at himself. "Yes, my new image certainly is intimidating." He said proudly, but then his pride turned to anger once more. "But feeling cowardice towards my recently changed visage is no excuse for deserting the empire!" Sombra exclaimed, slamming his hoof on the throne's arm in frustration. The silver pony recoiled at the sound of Sombra's hoof hitting the crystal throne.

"D-deserting, sire? I d-doubt any pony would do such a thing. Maybe they ran into an i-impediment along one of the empire's roads on the way b-back." The crystal pony said shakily.

"If there was an impediment along the roads, I would have heard of it. Nay, they deserted. There can be no other explanation for the missing messengers." Sombra said in a low tone. The pony at the foot of the throne could only imagine what Sombra would do to them if they were found and brought back to him.

Sombra's eyes narrowed at the pony. "Thou art the only one to return. What is thy name, pony?" He asked.

This perplexed the pony at the foot of the throne. "S-shining Star, sire."

"And why did you not flee with the others when thee had the chance?" Sombra asked, raising an eyebrow at Shining.

Shining looked up at the dark king. "B-because I swore an oath of loyalty to the throne of the Empire, and I intend to keep it."

This response brought a smile to Sombra's face. "Hmm. Thou art loyal even when your peers are not, Shining. I admire that. How would thou likest to become one of my advisors?"

Shining gave Sombra a look of bewilderment, excitement, and fear. "An advisor, sire?"

"Yes, Shining. An advisor. Thou wouldst be a member of the royal court, giving me advice on daily matters with some of the noblest ponies in the land. Dost thou accept this position?" The king asked with a fanged grin.

Shining bowed as he responded. "I accept this position, King Sombra." He said nervously.

Sombra's grin turned to a smile. "Good. Depart back to thy quarters, Counselor Star. I will have need of you at first light tomorrow."

"Yes, sire." Shining responded, immediately heading out the door of the throne room.

_I only wish that there were more ponies in this kingdom that are as loyal as my newest advisor. _Sombra thought with a smile. Sombra looked out the window again to see the moon rising into the night sky. _So now the night begins, and the day's duties end. _He thought, his horn glowing a swirling black and purple. With a bright purple flash, Sombra left for his bedchambers. The throne room, normally bustling with activity, was now empty, save for the newly recolored black crystal throne.

-The Dreamscape-

Luna opened her eyes to find herself in the dreamscape. However, there was something about the dreamscape that was rather unnerving. Instead of a pleasant and sleepy atmosphere, fog shrouded the ground, preventing Luna from seeing past her own muzzle. She took a tentative step forward and realized that even the ground felt different. Luna looked down and her eyes widened at what she saw. Craggy rock had replaced the normally lush green grass that made up the ground.

_What has happened to this place?_ Luna thought as worry began to creep into her mind. She looked into the fog again, this time seeing a silhouetted figure. From what Luna could see, the figure had a long sharp horn and broad extended wings. An alicorn.

"You there! State your business in this dream realm!" Luna shouted at the figure, trying to sound authoritative. The figure turned its head to see her and Luna took a step back in surprise at what she saw. A pair of bright glowing eyes penetrated the fog and stared at Luna.

"Ah, thou hast arrived at last." A warm voice came from the alicorn.  
_Those yellow eyes… It's him!_ Luna's thought, immediately becoming alarmed at the intruding alicorn's presence.

"No need to be alarmed, Princess. I bring no ill tidings to thee tonight." The alicorn said as he began walking towards Luna.

Luna didn't know if she should run or wait for the alicorn. Alarms were going off in her mind, yet something stayed her feet. Was it doubt? Was it the faint thought that this alicorn wasn't here to cause trouble? Maybe.

The alicorn finally walked through the fog, allowing Luna a good look at him. It was the same alicorn from the night before. There was the steel grey coat, unkempt raven black mane and tail, and the bright yellow eyes.

Luna narrowed her eyes at the alicorn. "I believe I told thee to stay out of my sight, alicorn." She said threateningly.

The alicorn gave an amused smile. "What can I say, Princess? When given the opportunity to meet two rulers that have intertwined fates, I cannot simply leave it."

Luna gave the alicorn a questioning look. "Two rulers? Intertwined fates? What madness is this that thou hast spoken?"

"Is it madness? Or is it the truth? Or can it be both?" The alicorn asked with a grin.

Luna's irritation made itself present in her words. "Do not dodge the question, alicorn. What art thou speaking of?"

The alicorn was just about to respond when he looked past Luna's shoulder. "Ah, the second ruler to which I was referring. Princess Luna, meet King Sombra." He said, gesturing to something behind Luna.

Luna turned to see a big white unicorn standing before her. His bright white fur made him stand out against the dull grey fog that surrounded them. The contrast of his white coat and regal black mane made him all the more visible in the fog.

Princess Luna extended her hoof in greeting. "King Sombra, 'tis a pleasure. If I may ask, what kingdom is it that thou rule over?"

Sombra gave a warm smile to the lunar princess and took her hoof in one of his. Lowering his muzzle to her hoof, he delicately kissed the dark blue hoof to return the greeting. "One of the ruling princesses of Equestria. I finally get the chance to meet you. I am King Sombra, ruler the Crystal Empire."

Princess Luna's eyes widened at this. "The Crystal Empire?" She asked in a surprised tone.

"Yes. Dost thou know of it?" Sombra said with a grin.

"Know of it? After feeling the quakes that shook all the land, I now know of what the Crystal Empire is." Luna said, remembering what had happened the previous day.

"Ah, yes. That is partially because of the alicorn standing behind thee. He gave me the power to accomplish such a feat." Sombra said, gesturing towards the alicorn behind Luna.

Luna turned to face the alicorn, who still had that warm smile on his face. "You caused the tremors?"

The alicorn shook his head. "Directly? No. I simply imbued Sombra with some of my power to give him more control over his empire. And how has that worked out for thee, Sombra?" He said, looking over at Sombra.

"It has worked out brilliantly. Because of what thou did, I now have complete control over the empire." Sombra beamed.

The alicorn then turned back to Luna. "And Luna, how hast thou been since we talked last? Did the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration go smoothly?"

Luna gave the alicorn a surprised look. "How could thou knowest about that?"

"I can be in many places at once, my dear princess." The alicorn said proudly. "Now, Summer Sun Celebration." He said, almost as if he was testing how the words sounded in his mouth. "Seems like a strange name for such a boot-kissing occasion."

"I hate to say this, but I half-heartedly agree with thee." Luna said.

"Half-heartedly?" Sombra asked, walking up next to her. "Care to explain why not thy agreement is whole-hearted?"

"Well, during the preparations two children came to me and paid their respects to me. It reminded me of how there are some who still appreciate me as they appreciate my sister." Luna said, a confidence in her subjects rising in her chest.

"But only two children out of how many ponies?" The alicorn asked, mock surprise lacing his words. "And what did they do after thou let them approach thee?

Luna's confidence began to falter. "One of them asked me to help with some nightmares that the other had been having."

"So it was only to ask a favor?" The alicorn asked with a chuckle. "That sounds like they just used you to get a good night's rest. I do not know much about paying respects, but that does not sound like it."

Sombra chimed in. "So other than that, nopony talked to thee? Or even acknowledged that thou wert there?"

"My, my. It truly shocks me that thy subjects only need thee for when they are having a rough night's sleep." The alicorn said maliciously, smiling at Luna all the while.

Luna felt an anger curdling inside her. The affection the children had showed her, the love her sister had for her. It felt so genuine, only now it felt like it was all a lie.

"Now, now, Luna. Let's not be too hasty to anger here. Besides, thou are not the only pony here that will be affected by your sister."

This caught Sombra's attention as his smiling expression turned to a concerned one. "What art thou talking about, alicorn?"

"Like I said to Luna earlier, both of your fates are intertwined. Celestia is the one by which thine fates are tied." The alicorn said with a twisted grin.

"Celestia ties our fates together? What does that mean?" Luna asked, momentarily breaking away from her inner rage.

"In the near future, there will be two banishments. One shall be banished from this world, and the other shall be banished into this world. How that shall come about, only time will tell."

Sombra and Luna were at a loss for words.

_Banishment? _Luna thought, shocked at the very idea of her being sent away. _But what did Celestia have to do with it?_ Luna thought._ Could she be the one to banish me?_ The thought of such a thing made her stomach churn.

_Banishment?_ Sombra thought, suddenly afraid to lose his newfound powers. For most of his rule, the senate had suppressed Sombra's power. And just when his power's limitations were lifted, his rule was to be taken away.

"This cannot be the future. It cannot!" Sombra exclaimed at the alicorn.

The alicorn stomped on the rocky ground. "It can be avoided. But not without my help."

"Tell us how we can avoid this future." Sombra pleaded, fear of the alicorn's prediction showing itself on both his and Luna's faces.

"Sombra, I would advise stepping up thy control over thy subjects. Should any dissenters try to get to Celestia about thy new rule, all thy new power will be lost." The alicorn said to Sombra. Sombra nodded in response.

The alicorn then turned to Luna. "Princess Luna, consider my words. Be wary of thy sister. This Summer Sun Celebration will only be the beginning of Celestia's bid for complete control. By focusing all the attention on her, no one will bat an eye when thou art removed from the picture."

The alicorn's words seeped into Luna's mind as they strangely rang true for the alicorn princess. "I shall be watchful of my sister. If she wants me gone, she will not be able to without a fight." She said in a malicious tone.

The alicorn smiled. "Good. Well, 'tis time for me to depart. Until next time, your Majesties." He said with a small bow of his head. The alicorn's image began to fade until nothing was left.

Almost immediately, the fog was lifted from the dreamscape. The rock beneath Sombra's and Luna's hooves cracked open as full green grass broke through the rocky surface. Silver moonlight shone from a bright gibbous moon, bathing the land in a soft light. The dreamscape had returned to its normal state.

Sombra and Luna looked at each other,

"Let us pray that the future he spoke of does not come about." Sombra said in a concerned tone.

Luna nodded as a grim look found its way onto her face. _Banishment? But how? What would she do that would cause such an atrocity to happen? Or what will the banisher's motive be behind sending me away?_ She thought, her mind going back to what the alicorn had said before leaving. _If Celestia seeks to remove me from rule, then I will have to be ready for whenever she makes her move._

-Sky above Canterlot Castle: 1,000 years before Nightmare Moon's return-

A dark grey alicorn hovered outside the window to Luna's bedchamber with a malicious grin on his face. _The pieces are set_. _The seeds of distrust have been sown. Now all I need to do… is wait. _The alicorn thought, his grin growing into a smile. With that thought and a bright flash of yellow light from his horn, he disappeared into the night.


	14. Chapter 14

**Guardians of Light: A Shadow Forms**

**Chapter 14**

-Canterlot Archives: 1,000 years before Nightmare Moon's return-

-Starswirl the Bearded's POV-

"Show me." Starswirl said confidently to the white book in front of him, ready to receive whatever truths the book had to offer him.

A scribble of text began to write itself into the book. _Close this book and look deeply into the pearl on the cover._ It read. Starswirl complied, closing the book and looked at the small pearl that was embedded in the cover. As Starswirl looked into the small white stone, he noticed how hypnotic the pearl looked with the gold trim surrounding it.

_Maybe I should get closer._ Starswirl thought as he tentatively leaned in a bit closer to the book's cover. His gaze was focused on just the pearl, waiting for something to happen.

Suddenly, Starswirl's eye caught something. It almost looked like a small yellow light emanating from within the pearl itself. _What is this? _Starswirl thought in curiosity, his eyes narrowing at the faint glow. What happened next, Starswirl would never have expected. As Starswirl's eyes narrowed at the pearl, a bright yellow flash filled his vision. Starswirl felt as if someone had just shone a torch in his eyes in the dead of night. Immediately, he pinched his eyes shut in reaction to the flash.

"Gah!" Starswirl shouted both in surprise and in pain. He covered his eyes with his hooves, trying to fight off the pain originating in his eyes. _What in blazes was that?_ He thought, feeling the pain begin to fade from his vision. Starswirl took his hooves off his eyes and opened them. To his surprise, the old unicorn saw nothing. Starswirl closed his eyes and shook his head in surprise. _Maybe the sudden burst of light has temporarily blinded me._ He thought, opening his eyes again, still seeing only black. _What? What is going on?_ Starswirl thought, fear of being blind beginning to set in.

Suddenly, an image began to fade in to Starswirl's vision. Starswirl felt relived that he wasn't blind, but also felt uncertain about what was about to happen.

The image faded in to reveal a room filled with beakers full of various chemicals and mixtures. Liquids were boiled on a spit-like contraption that hung over a small fire pit in the corner of the room. Starswirl looked around to see glass jars contained all sorts of ingredients like roots, bones, fur, and various other things. In the middle of the room was an aqua blue-coated unicorn with purple eyes an unkempt peachy orange mane. On his flank was a depiction of a red crystal in the shape of a heart.

"In the beginning, there was only pony and crystal. What started as a simple experiment became a grand empire that lasted for centuries. Its impact on the world is undeniable, and its magic has remained a mystery to most scholars to this day." Said a voice from above Starswirl. Starswirl looked above him and saw nothing. He turned his head around looking for the origin of the voice, but found the same result.

"Do not be disturbed, Starswirl the Bearded. What you are seeing is unrecorded history. Until today, no pony has known the origins of this mysterious empire." The voice said in a deep tone.

"Who art thou? What is this place?" Starswirl frantically asked the voice.

"I am but the narration of history, my dear magician. And as for where thou art, it is the Canterlot Archives."

Starswirl's eyebrow rose at this answer. "But how can I still be in the archives when I can clearly see that I am somewhere else?"

"What thou art seeing is a vision, Starswirl. Everything thou art seeing occurred nearly five hundred years ago."

"But what does this unicorn have to do with the Crystal Empire?" Starswirl asked, gesturing towards the experimenting pony before him.

"Watch and thou shall see." The voice said. Starswirl sighed and continued watching the unicorn.

The unicorn levitated several items towards the middle of the room where a big hoof-drawn circle had been drawn. Starswirl watched with both intrigue and disgust as the unicorn carried three bones, three pairs of eyes, three brains, three hearts, and three pieces of crystal into the circle. One crystal was red, another was yellow, and a third was blue.

"Now, if my notes are correct, then that is all I should need." The brown unicorn said with excitement. "So let's go down the list." He said, looking at each item individually. "Three bones from a pony cemetery, three crystals from the northern mountain caves, three sets of eyes, three brains, and three hearts from an organ donation center. The spell ingredients are ready."

Starswirl began to wonder if the things this pony was doing were even legal. Stealing from an organ donation center? Digging up a grave for bones? What was he going to do with these spell ingredients? Necromancy? Making some sort of perverse monster? _Whatever that pony is doing I am not sure if I will like it._ Starswirl thought.

"Put thy concerns to rest, Starswirl." The voice said in a calming tone. "The pony we are observing is Crystal Soul. Because of this unicorn, the crystal pony race was born."

Starswirl continued watching Crystal as he seemed to be preparing some sort of incantation.

"Now that all the ingredients have been gathered, it's time to see if this works." Crystal said, sounding both excited and nervous. Starswirl watched in wonder as Crystal's horn began to glow a rust red.

Suddenly, the circle glowed a bright blue, illuminating the small room in a soft turquoise. Crystal's eyes were pinched shut as he began to concentrate on the spell. Starswirl's vision darted between Crystal and what was beginning to happen in the circle. In the circle, the organs, bones, and crystals began to orbit around the perimeter of the dirt circle. As Crystal's horn glowed brighter, the objects spun around the circle faster. Soon, the objects in the circle were a blur as Crystal began grunting under the strain the spell was putting on his mind.

Starswirl stood by, spellbound by what was taking place before his eyes.

"And… now…" Crystal said, grunting between words. "The final… ingredient." As he said this, a bright white glow began to form at the tip of his horn. Starswirl watched in amazement as the glow grew into a small ball of light at the end of Crystal's horn.

With a final grunt of exertion, Crystal pushed the white ball away from himself and sent it towards the rapidly swirling spell ingredients. Starswirl's eyes tracked the white ball until it touched the spinning ingredients. As soon as the ball touched the various rotating objects, a bright flash of white light blinded both Starswirl and Crystal.

Starswirl shut his eyes from the flash for a few moments to let his eyes recover. He opened them to behold three of the most beautiful things he'd ever seen. Three ponies lay on the ground in front of him. One was male with a red coat and orange mane, a female with yellow fur and a green mane, and a second female with blue fur and a purple mane. However, there was something strange about the ponies that lay before Starswirl. It was the fur and the mane of each pony that caught the eyes of the magician. They shone in the dark, like crystals in a cave. _Crystals. Crystal!_ Starswirl thought, realizing what Crystal Soul had just done.

Starswirl heard a groan from his left and saw Crystal rubbing his closed eyes. After recovering from the flash, Crystal looked up and saw the result of his experiment.

"Did it work?" He asked himself. Crystal ran to the side of the newly created crystal ponies. He looked over his work and inspected each one of them. "Body size is regular. Fusion of crystal and flesh has been achieved. But what about the organs?" Crystal wondered, putting his ears to the side of the red male crystal pony.

"Go on, Starswirl." The voice above him said. "Feel the pony's lungs expand. Feel the beating of its heart. Feel what only one other has felt in the history of the world."

Starswirl took a tentative few steps towards the red prone crystal pony. He took a moment to look at the creature that was before him. _A living, breathing creature. Created from nothing but magic and flesh._ He thought, his mind buzzing with amazement as a huge smile found its way onto his face.

Gently putting his ears on the crystal pony's chest, Starswirl waited for the crystal pony to prove that it was alive. After a few seconds, Starswirl's heart leapt with excitement as he felt the pony's chest rise, slightly pushing the old unicorn mage's head with it, and then falling back to its original position. Starswirl felt and heard the _thump-thump…thump-thump _of the crystal pony's heartbeat.

"This is unbelievable_._" Starswirl thought aloud in both awe and amazement.

"Which makes it all the more magnificent, does it not?" The voice above Starswirl said.

"To create life from nothing but magic and organs. It is the most wondrous thing I have ever seen in my life. However, I have never heard of that kind of spell." Starswirl said, his academic curiosity getting the better of him.

"Unfortunately, all the ponies that knew how to perform such a spell died out millennia ago with the death of that young unicorn that thou art next to." The voice said, causing Starswirl's head to turn in Crystal Soul's direction. Starswirl watched as Crystal started laughing and tears of joy came to the unicorn's eyes. "Crystal Soul is the last one to know this enchantment."

Both sorrow and joy were felt in Starswirl's heart. Both for the lost knowledge and that he had just watched a long lost spell be performed. "But surely he could have written it down. Or saved it away in a log somewhere." Starswirl said, trying to believe he could obtain the spell.

"I am sorry, my dear magician. But Crystal died before he could write it down." The voice said with a twinge of sympathy.

Starswirl continued watching Crystal rejoice over his creation. "How old was he when he passed?" Starswirl asked.

"Thou see?" The voice asked. Starswirl nodded in reply, still keeping his eyes on Crystal. "Five years from today."

Starswirl's eyes widened. "Five years? To die so young and with so much to see and do is horrible in every aspect. What caused this untimely demise?"

"That very spell you saw him cast. The ball of light you saw leave his horn was literally a part of himself. He gave life to his creation by giving away part of his own."

Starswirl tried to take in what he had just heard. "How can a pony give away pieces of himself to create new life?" He pondered, still shocked by the voice's answer.

"It is a mystery lost in time, Starswirl. All that matters is what happened in this room and what thou just beheld. However, there is more of the story that must be told." The voice said.

Starswirl watched as the image of Crystal and the three crystal ponies began to fade to black.

Before Starswirl could ask what was going on, the voice spoke up. "What transpired in that small laboratory was the start of one of the greatest civilizations in the history of the world. From an experiment came the world's first male and first two female crystal ponies. Crystal Soul wanted his new creations to live amongst pony-kind. However, this was met with opposition from most ponies."

As the voice's words ended, Starswirl's vision began to fade back in. This time, he was in the middle of a town square. The streets were filled with ponies of all races and colors. Angry shouts filled the air, but angry shouts at what? Starswirl walked through the crowd of ponies to find Crystal Soul and the red crystal pony at the front. Behind them were the yellow and blue crystal pony mares, cowering from the crowd.

"Take these mutants away from us, Crystal Soul!" One pegasus stallion shouted towards the front of the raging mob.

"But why? What have they done to deserve such hatred from thee?" Crystal pleaded, but the crowd wouldn't let up.

"Why should we associate ourselves with these rock and flesh half-breeds?" An earth pony mare exclaimed, earning shouts of approval from those around her.

"But we are living and breathing ponies just as thou art! Why should we be shunned and not thee?" The red crystal pony shouted back angrily.

"Pony! Ha!" One unicorn stallion shouted. "Thou art not a pony! Thou art merely a mix of flesh and rock!"

At this, the red crystal pony began to charge the unicorn, anger clouding any better judgment the pony might have had. He would have knocked the unicorn over except for that Crystal Soul got in the way.

"Don't do it! Go back to the house, Jasper! I will meet thee later." He said, turning back to the crowd. "As for me and these crystal ponies, we shall depart, if it will satisfy thee."

A cheer erupted from the mob. Shouts of elation filled the air as the crystal ponies trudged off towards Crystal's home.

Starswirl watched as a look of rage found itself on Crystal's face. Crystal opened his mouth and shouted, "Is this what it means to be a pony!? To be of one blood and flesh!? To not accept others despite their differences!?" This quieted some of the cheering from the crowd as Crystal continued. "Because if that is what it means to be a pony, I'd rather wish that I had been born one!" He shouted, turning his back to the crowd and began walking back to his house. At this, Starswirl's vision began to fade back to black.

Out of the black, the voice spoke. "And so Crystal and his crystal creations were unwelcome in Equestria. As a result, they sought shelter. They longed for an escape from the prejudices and rants of hostile ponies. They left Equestria and headed north, towards where Crystal had found the crystals to use in his experiment. They wandered the mountainous wilderness day and night, until one day, they found paradise amongst the frozen wasteland.

Starswirl's vision faded back, this time, showing the three crystal ponies and Crystal standing together. Behind them was a cart full of food, goods and materials like wood, nails, and the tools to use them. The four ponies looked out at a large section of green grassland in a valley surrounded by mountains. The melted snow flowed down the mountains and created a river that ran through the middle of the grassland. The green grass swayed and blew in the mountain wind, giving the grass an almost a wave-like illusion.

"This is perfect." The yellow crystal mare said in awe of their destination.

"Aye, Amber. It would seem that we have found a place to lay our heads." Crystal said, a wide smile stretching across his face as he beheld the mountain-surrounded paradise.

"Crystal, I cannot thank you enough for what thou hast done for us." The blue crystal mare said. "Thou hast made us, given us a home, protected us, and so much more. I only wish that there was some way to thank you properly."

"Do not concern yourself, Sapphire." Crystal said, putting a hoof on her shoulder. "But if thou wish to repay me, then simply live." He said, earning confused looks from the other ponies. "Live, multiply, create a new pony nation. Pegasi, unicorns, and earth ponies have Equestria, but you, my children, will have this." He said, gesturing to the grassland before them.

"We will make thee proud, Crystal." Jasper said, trotting up next to his creator. "Our children and our children's children will remember what thou hath done for us."

Crystal nodded his head. "I require no thanks, Jasper. However, it is appreciated. Now then, let us get started."

As soon as Crystal finished that sentence, Starswirl's vision faded to black once more.

-Clover the Clever's POV-

"Master Starswirl? Art thou coming?" Clvoer asked outside his teacher's study. Concern for his master had begun to fester after Starswirl had not come out to the library after Clover did. Slowly pushing open the door, Clover's heart jumped in surprise at what he saw. Clover looked at Starswiril gazing into a white-covered book. What startled Clover were his master's eyes. They were bright yellow.

"Master Starswirl! Snap out of it!" Clover shouted, galloping to his teacher. Clover put his hooves on Starswirl's shoulders and shook them. Starswirl wouldn't budge. Clover's heart raced as he realized that he had to get Starswirl out of that trance!

Suddenly, Clover had an idea. "Don't worry, Master Starswirl. I know just what to do." He said, racing out of the study and towards the castle courtyard.

-Starswirl the Bearded's POV-

The voice spoke up in the darkness. "Several years passed by as Crystal and the three crystal ponies made residence in the valley. The put up a few houses with the materials they had in the wagon and in that time, the two female crystal ponies became pregnant and bore the first two conceived crystal ponies. The roots of the Crystal Empire were forming. However, Crystal felt that there was something lacking with the fledgling civilization. A certain depth. Something that Equestria had, but they did not. Can you guess what that depth was, Starswirl?"

Starswirl looked up into the dark, searching his mind for answers. "I cannot say that I know what depth it is that thou art speaking of." He flatly replied.

"Remember the process of how the crystal ponies were created. They were a combination of flesh and what intangible substance? It is a substance that you yourself are quite familiar with." The voice teased.

The answer hit Starswirl like a brick wall. "Magic." He said.

"Correct, my dear magician. Magic. In Equestria, magic was projected in one form or another by each race. With the crystal ponies, it was more difficult. Magic was a part of their very being, yet they could not use it." The voice said.

Starswirl tried to contemplate what that would be like. He had known magic all his life, but to be cut off from it and not use it anymore would be torture to the unicorn.

"Crystal Soul, feeling that his days were coming to an end, decided to give the crystal ponies one more piece of himself to fill this depth." The voice said as Starswirl's vision faded back in.

Starswirl saw Crystal and the three crystal ponies standing in the middle of the valley. On Crystal's back was a saddlebag, in which lay something that looked rather heavy. The ponies' manes and grass blew in the mountain breeze as Crystal stepped away from his crystal creations.

Crystal turned back to the crystal ponies and spoke. "I have asked you three to come here so that I may give a final gift to the crystal ponies."

Amber put on a curious look. "But how can thou present with yet another gift? Thou hast given us more than enough to start a civilization here. What more can thou give?"

Crystal smiled warmly at Amber. "I feel that my time is coming. With that in mind, I present you, this." He said using his magic to levitate a bright blue block out of his saddlebag. The crystal block's shape was familiar to Starswirl as he beheld it.

_The Crystal Heart._ Starswirl thought, observing the crystal.

"Just a crystal? But we have enough of that here." Jasper said in a confused manner.

"But there will be something special about this crystal, my dear Jasper." Crystal replied. "Magic is a part of what thou art, and this crystal will be the vessel of that magic."

"But how?" Sapphire asked.

"I want all of you to focus on the crystal. Think of every happy and good thing that has happened to thee." Crystal said, laying the heart-shaped crystal on the ground. "And before we do this…" Crystal said, a tear falling from his eye, "I would like to say thank you. And goodbye."

"Thou art leaving us?" Sapphire said, her voice suddenly full of sadness.

"I cannot stay forever, Sapphire." Crystal said with a smile as more tears filled his eyes. "Think of this as my farewell to thee."

"Goodbye, Crystal." Jasper said, embracing Crystal. "We will never forget what thou hast done for us." He said as the other two crystal ponies joined in the group hug.

Crystal choked back a sob as the hug broke up. "Well then, let us finish what we started." He said, his horn lighting up a faded red. The heart-shaped crystal block levitated in the air as the three crystal ponies focused on it.

Starswirl watched as the three crystal ponies closed their eyes and concentrated their happy memories on the crystal block.

Suddenly, Crystal's horn shot a bright white beam of light at the crystal. As soon as the beam of light hit the crystal, it began to glow a bright blue. As the crystal glowed, the three crystal ponies seemed to have a glowing aura around them, each aura colored like its respective owner's coat. When the aura around the ponies materialized, it began to be absorbed by the crystal, each aura flowing into it like rivers pooling into a lake.

Starswirl watched in awe as the joy of the crystal ponies' happiness collected in the heart-shaped crystal while Crystal's horn shot the white beam of energy.

"And now, the final piece." Crystal said, straining from the raw magic that he was putting out. With a loud cry, Crystal's image exploded into light, almost blinding the awestruck Starswirl. The light from where Crystal used to be flowed into the crystal.

As soon as Crystal's light was absorbed, the crystal heart began rotating rapidly in midair. Suddenly, a bright burst of light erupted from the crystal, causing the three crystal ponies to be flung backwards from the magical blast. From the magical blast, ribbons of color stretched out of the heart-shaped crystal and into the air, spreading all across the land.

Sapphire was the first to recover from the blast and look at the bright blue crystal. It remained in its floating position above the ground, its blue aura still surrounding it.

"Where did Crystal go?" a voice from behind Sapphire asked. She turned to see Amber looking around for their creator.

"He is still with us, Amber. Maybe not in body, but he is still here." Sapphire said, looking at the levitating crystal.

Jasper sat up, rubbing his head. He turned his eyes to the hovering crystal. "What should we call this crystal? It has granted us the ability to project our magic, yet we have no name for it yet."

Amber rubbed her chin with a hoof. Suddenly, she raised her head and turned to the others. "The Crystal Heart." She said, turning back to the heart. "It shall be named the Crystal Heart."

Blackness faded over Starswirl's vision again as Amber dubbed the Crystal Heart's name. Starswirl tried to take in what had just happened. _He gave himself for the crystal ponies. He truly gave everything he had for their benefit._ He thought in wonder.

Yes, Starswirl. By giving his very essence, the crystal ponies were able to project their magic all across the world that day." The voice above Starswirl said with a hint of sadness.

"He did what was best for his creations. 'Tis a shame that history has not remembered such a magnificent pony." Starswirl said in admiration of Crystal.

"Indeed. However, Crystal's legacy has echoed throughout the ages. Soon after Crystal's passing, the male crystal pony, Jasper, became their first king. He and the female crystal ponies populated the region with crystal ponies. Their civilization grew and their people thrived."

As he said this, images seemed to scroll past Starswirl's vision. Images of buildings being constructed faded in and out of the old unicorn's eyesight.

"Eventually, Crystal Soul's dream became a reality. The Crystal Empire had been born. It had the modern technology of the age, had a thriving economic system, a senate that was made to limit the monarch's power, and their empire was always expanding in the valley. All was well for over five hundred years, until a few years ago when a certain unicorn named Sombra was put on the throne.

An image faded in front of Starswirl, showing a large bright white stallion. He had a flowing black mane and tail, ice blue eyes, and a large and muscular build.

"This is King Sombra?" Starswirl asked, inspecting the pony's image.

"Aye. After his father's passing, he became ruler of the Crystal Empire. However, unlike his predecessors, he did not like sharing power. The very senate I told thee about mere sentences ago did not trust their new ruler. They did not like him, nor did he like them. He searched for opportunities to clench power until one fateful evening when he would make a deal with the devil." The voice said, a new image of fading in next to the image of Sombra. This image showed a steel grey alicorn with sleek wings and a sharp horn. Starswirl's internal alarms began blaring when he saw the alicorn's eyes. They were a bright yellow with slit pupils.

"And who might this pony be?" Starswirl asked.

"There have been many names for that pony. Nightmare Lord, Death, the White Darkness, to name a few. For now, we will address him as the Shadow." The voice said.

"The Shadow." Starswirl said, almost as if tasting how the name sounded in his mouth.

"Yes. He made a deal with Sombra. In return for eliminating the senators, Sombra would swear complete loyalty to the Shadow. This in turn, transformed Sombra into this." The voice said. The image of Sombra shuttered and changed. Sombra's white coat went to a dark grey, his ice blue eyes turning green and red, his white horn turning deep red, and purple smoke seemed to ooze from the sides of his eyes.

Starswirl took a startled step back from the image. "This is what the Shadow did to him?"

"Yes it is, Starswirl. Those who follow the Shadow undergo transformations of varying sorts. Be it terrifying, horrifying, or beautifying changes, his minions' appearances change." The voice said.

"I need to warn the princesses about this. They will know how to address this- Wait… What is that smell?" Starswirl said, sniffing the air.

"What do you smell, Starswirl?" The voice asked.

Starswirl wiggled his nose. "It smells kind of strange. Like fresh fruit mixed with sweat. Almost like… Dreamroot." He replied in a curious tone.

Suddenly, a bright light flashed in Starswirl's vision. Starswirl shut his eyes from the sudden burst of light as he felt himself begin to float up. Starswirl looked down as he floated the blackness was but a line on a plane of white. In fact, the farther he got from the black, the more Starswirl could recognize what the blackness was. A letter. It was a letter on a piece of paper. The black line became the big line of a capital I. Soon, Starswirl was looking down at the book he had just been reading before being blinded by the first flash of light.

"Oh thank Celestia." A voice to Starswirl's right said. He turned to see Clover standing next to him, levitating a piece of Dreamroot in front of Starswirl's nose.

"What just happened?" Starswirl asked, holding his head in his hooves.

"I do not know. I could ask thee the same question." Clover said, laying the twisted brown and yellow root on the desk next to the book.

Starswirl gave Clover a stern look. "I do not know what happened, but I need to speak with the Princesses immediately."


	15. Author's Note

**Guardians of Light: A Shadow Forms**

**Author's note**

**Hey, Fanfiction! Sorry if I disappointed your expectations of a new chapter only to find an author's note. With apologies out of the way, I'll get straight to the point. I will be revamping chapters 1-4 before I produce any further chapters. I'll try to fix the errors in those chapters as soon as I can so that I could give you guys more chapters to read. Comment and critique on the story and I thank you guys for reading this fic!**

**-Alphadude007**

**P.S.- I want to give my thanks to the following users for supporting this story. You guys are awesome!**

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**-TyTyTech**


	16. Author's Note 2

**Guardians of Light: A Shadow Forms**

**Author's Note #2**

**Hey, Fanfiction! First off, I would like to apologize for taking so long. Trying to organize a schedule around summer classes and signing up for fall is a bit of a hassle. Before my announcement, I would like to wish my fellow Americans a happy 4****th**** of July and happy 237****th**** birthday, America! With holiday greetings out of the way, I am happy to announce that I am done revising the first four chapters of this fic. Feel free to check them out and tell me if I missed anything. Also, I will be accepting OC's for the next week. Just leave the name and description of your OC in the comments and I'll make sure to put them into the story. Oh, one last thing. The writing for chapter 15 is underway, so don't worry. The next chapter will be out within the next week. Thanks for your patience!**


	17. Chapter 15

**Hey, Fanfiction! So after more days than it was necessary, chapter 15 is finally here! Turns out my schedule in regards to the next month and a half of summer are going to be a lot more open for me than I originally thought. So what does that mean? Less authors notes and more chapters at more frequent times! Also, I'd like to thank everyone who contributed OCs. You guys will see your characters in the fic soon enough. So with that out of the way, comment/critique on the story and I hope you guys enjoy the chapter!**

**-Alphadude**

**Guardians of Light: A Shadow Forms**

**Chapter 15**

-Eastern outskirts of Ponyville, western border of Everfree Forest-

As the sun climbed to its mid-day position, three ponies and a baby dragon approached a cottage that sat on top of a small hill. At the foot of the hill was a small stream, over which a small grass-covered bridge spanned the watery gap. Squirrels, rabbits, birds, and many other creatures were outside the house, looking in through the various circular windows, trying to see how their caretaker was.

As the three ponies and dragon approached the front door of the cottage, they saw the way the animals were acting and glanced nervously at each other.

Twilight gently knocked on the red half-circular wooden door of her yellow friend's cottage. "Fluttershy, are you there?" she asked.

"I'll bet she's too scared to get out of bed." A flying Rainbow Dash suggested.

"I wouldn't doubt that at all. If our dreams were anything like hers, she's not going to be leaving her cottage for the next week." Rarity said in a concerned tone.

Twilight knocked again, this time hearing a response from the other side. "Come in."

The purple alicorn pushed open the door to find a surprising sight. Instead of cowering in fear of anything that moved like the four visitors were expecting, Fluttershy was laying on her couch brushing the white coat her pet rabbit, Angel.

Fluttershy looked up from her brushing to greet the four dumbstruck guests. "Hello, girls. Hi, Spike. What brings you here?"

The first to speak up was Rainbow as she landed on the wooden floor of the cottage. "You're okay?" She asked in a surprised tone.

"Of course I'm alright. Why wouldn't I be?" Fluttershy replied in a nonchalant tone, turning her attention back to brushing Angel, this time attending to the bunny's tail.

"But… Didn't you have a dream last night?" Spike asked, wondering if Fluttershy had a nightmare like the rest of them had.

Fluttershy stopped brushing Angel and looked like she was remembering. She then slowly nodded. "Yes, I did. How did you know?"

Twilight cleared her throat. "If my guess is correct, we all had nightmares last night. It can't be a coincidence that multiple representatives of the Elements of Harmony had bad dreams."

Rarity spoke up, gesturing to the purple dragon that stood beside her. "But Spike had a nightmare and he's not an Element bearer."

Twilight put a hoof to her chin. "That's right. So unless there's some mystical seventh element out in the world somewhere that is remotely connected to Spike, I don't know how Spike would have had a nightmare like the rest of us did." She said, pondering the implications of Spike having a bad dream like the others did.

"But what could have affected all of us with nightmares? Wouldn't that take a lot of magic to do that?" Fluttershy asked as she got up off the couch. Angel leapt from the couch as his owner stood up and looked up at her in concern.

"Inflicting a single individual would take years of practiced magic to pull off. But multiple dreams on at least six distinct ponies? That would take more magic than the princesses combined." Twilight said, the shock of her own realization making itself known through her words.

Everyone cast nervous looks at one another at hearing this.

"Maybe we should get everypony else and discuss this as a full group." Rainbow suggested, breaking the silence.

"I agree. If this concerns all of us, then we must make sure that everypony is a part of the discussion." Rarity said in concordance with Rainbow Dash.

Twilight spoke up, already having a plan in mind. "Alright then. Spike, Fluttershy and I will go find Pinkie Pie. Rarity and Rainbow Dash will head to Sweet Apple Acres and fetch Applejack. We'll meet in the library by dinner time where we'll talk about what to do in light of recent events.

Rainbow jumped in the air and began hovering, saluting Twilight in the process. "Roger that, boss. C'mon, Rarity!" She said, zipping out the cottage with a _whoosh_.

Rarity shook her head. "Hopefully I can meet her there by midafternoon." With that, the white unicorn took off galloping out the door.

Twilight turned to Fluttershy. "Any idea where Pinkie might be?"

Fluttershy's eyebrows narrowed and her eyes glanced up at the ceiling, as though pondering something. "She should be at Sugar Cube Corner. If she's not there, then I don't know where she would be."

"Then Sugar Cube Corner it is. Let's go, guys!" Spike said, charging out the cottage door, followed closely by two ponies.

As Twilight bounded down the path away from Fluttershy's cottage, she began to think. _I just hope she's in good a shape as I found Fluttershy in. If she's had a nightmare as bad as we did, then I can only hope she's taking it well._ She thought, galloping even faster towards the supposed location of her pink friend.

-Streets of Ponyville-

Palm Spring, Speedy Delivery, and Silver Star made their way down the main roads of Ponyville. Palm Spring had made the suggestion that the three belied ponies go their separate ways and do some reconnaissance on the town. Both Speedy and Silver agreed, each going their own way down the road.

Everywhere they went, ponies went about their daily business. Some were in the market selling or purchasing local goods, others were eating at the various restaurants that lined the town's streets, and young colts and fillies ran and played through the street, some of which earned annoyed looks from the adults. Each of the three disguised ponies was looking at the town through their own mind.

Speedy Delivery watched ponies go about their business. The funny thing to him was that everypony seemed to enjoy what they were doing. Back in the hive, every job was just a chore that had to be done. With these ponies, they enjoyed their livelihoods. _Wow. This is nothing at all like the hive._ Fang thought, his bright crimson eyes glancing from store to store. _How can they find comfort or even fun in their work?_ He wondered, then stopped for a second to think about what he had just said. _Well they don't have the threat of being eaten by their fellow ponies on their minds on a daily basis._ He thought, resuming his stroll down the dirt road. As he passed the local food and goods carts, sellers began to take an interest in him.

"Care to sample my home-grown carrots? Made fresh every day!" A mare called out to him. Speedy turned his head to see a mare with a goldenrod coat, olive green eyes, and a curled orange mane standing behind a cart that was full of what appeared to be fresh produce.

Speedy looked back at the mare, then back at the vegetables, then back at the mare, who, by the look on her face, was expecting an answer.

"Uhh… I think I'm alright for now." Speedy said as he started to turn away, but the mare called him again.

"Say, I don't think I've seen you here before. What's your name, handsome?" The mare asked, leaning on her stand towards him.

For Speedy, it felt like the temperature got twenty degrees hotter all of a sudden. _Did she just call me handsome?_ He thought. "Um, S-speedy Delivery." He said, inadvertently tripping over his own words.

"Well, Speedy, how about you buy some carrots and next time you come by, you can get a little something extra?" The mare asked, giving Speedy an almost seductive look.

A crème-colored mare with a two-tone raspberry mane spoke up from behind a stand on the opposite side of the road. "Lay off the poor guy, Carrot Top! Besides, I think the stallion would love my freshly cut roses! For a stallion such as yourself, you must get something for that lucky mare of yours." She said, gesturing to the goods on her stand. On her stand were a brightly colored array of various flowers and potted plants.

Now Speedy was almost breaking into a sweat. He needed to find a way to get away from these two mares and quickly. His mind, working a thousand miles a minute, chose the stand that hopefully involved not getting too mixed up with the locals. Quickly regaining his composure, he approached the rose selling mare's stand, much to the chagrin of the vegetable selling one.

"How much for one rose?" He asked tentatively.

"I'm actually having a sale today. Three bits for a six-count bouquet." The crème mare said cheerfully.

Suddenly, Speedy felt his confidence surge. While talking with a mare wasn't one of his strong points, bargaining certainly was. "Three bits for roses? I found better looking petunias that grew from the ground on my way over here." He said with a determined look, daring the mare to make a better offer.

Within seconds, the mare's countenance went from 'pleasure doing business with you' to 'oh no you didn't'. "Two bits and I'll throw in a free bouquet on your next purchase." The mare said, challenging the bold colt to accept her offer.

"Deal." Speedy said, fishing out a coin purse he'd swiped off some stallion on his way down the street. Digging out two golden bits with his hoof, he placed them on the wooden top of the stand.

The mare reached down behind her stand and took out a bouquet of six thorn-trimmed red roses. Taking the bouquet and thanking the mare for her business, Speedy walked off, but couldn't help but overhear the two mares arguing behind him.

"Having a sale? Really, Rose?" The mare named Carrot Top asked incredulously.

"At least I wasn't throwing myself all over the poor guy just to make a sale." Rose hissed back.

"Throwing myself at him? Just what are you insinuating?" Carrot retorted as Speedy's snickering drowned out the conversation from his hearing.

Palm Spring watched as the colts and fillies played in the schoolyard. _Such innocence._ She thought, mesmerized by the way the children laughed and cavorted about in the grassy yard.

Just a few minutes earlier, Palm had been wandering down the dirt road that led away from the busy center of Ponyville, when she saw a bright red schoolhouse on top of a hill that overlooked the village. As she approached it, she began to hear high-pitched squeals of laughter coming from the hilltop. Wanting to investigate, Palm neared the school and saw something that astounded her. She saw children having fun.

Young ponies of all colors and sizes ran about the yard, playing all sorts of games. Some played tag, several pegasi tossed a ball back and forth to each other in midair, and others sat around and chatted with each other.

This was all unfamiliar to Palm Spring. Growing up in the hive, children were practically programmed to do what they were supposed to do. From birth, a changeling hatchling would be determined what job they were to do in the hive. Be it gathering love sources for the hive, being scouts, or just protecting the hive as a guard, changelings were boxed into whatever duty they were assigned at birth. Here in Ponyville, it was quite a different case.

From what Palm Spring had noticed about pony culture, she made an interesting discovery. What job that a pony was doing, they had a kind of marking or illustration on their flank that depicted exactly what they were doing. She'd heard it being called a "cutie mark" by some of the children that didn't seem to have any marks on their flanks.

_So they can become anything they want to be?_ Palm thought, amazed at the very possibility of having the chance to do what she wanted.

Her thoughts were interrupted as something big and red smacked into her face. Recoiling from the impact of the object, she looked down to see what had assailed her. Curiously, it was a small air-pumped red ball.

"Sorry about that!" A small country-accented voice shouted to her. Palm looked up to see three fillies looking at her with apologetic expressions on their faces. One of the fillies was a white unicorn with a curly two-toned lavender and pink mane. A second filly was a yellow earth pony with a red mane, in which was a big pink bow. Finally, a third filly was an orange pegasus with a spiked-up purple mane.

Palm Spring gave a quick smile. "It's okay." She said, pushing the ball back to them with her hoof.

"Yeah, sorry 'bout that." The yellow filly said in a country accent. "We would've caught the ball if Sweetie Belle didn't have butterhooves." She said, glaring at the white unicorn filly next to her.

"Hey! It wasn't my fault. Scootaloo was the one that couldn't throw it straight." The white filly said, pointing accusingly at the orange pegasus.

"What? How is this my fault?" Scootaloo asked incredulously. "Besides, Applebloom should have been making sure nopony was in our way." She said, casting an angry glance at the yellow earth pony.

"At least Ah can throw the ball straight." Applebloom retorted. Instantly, the three fillies began arguing with each other, trying to figure out who to pin the blame on.

Palm Spring just watched the three fillies argue with one another. _Wow._ She thought, watching the three started going for each other, kicking up a dust cloud around them as they tussled. _All this over a simple accident? Sheesh. You'd think they'd be more civil in this kind of thing._

Palm approached the wrestling fillies, trying to stop them before somepony got hurt. "Hey!" She shouted at the three ponies.

The three fillies stopped what they were doing instantaneously, the dust cloud around them beginning to fall back onto the ground. Sweetie Belle was lying on her back, about to buck Scootaloo off her, who was gnawing on Applebloom's ear, who was about to give Sweetie Belle a right hook.

"It was just an accident, okay? No need to do this all on my account. I gave you your ball back. Now go on and continue playing like you were before." Palm Spring said in an almost motherly tone.

The three young ponies got off each other and hung their heads. "We're sorry." They solemnly said at the same time.

Palm couldn't help but smile at the fillies. "It's okay. Now go on and play again." She said, gesturing for them to go.

The three began to leave for the schoolyard again when Applebloom suddenly turned around. "We could use another player if you want." She said with a smile.

The others turned around with smiles on their faces. Sweetie Belle spoke up in a cheery voice. "Yeah. You can catch the ball with us. Or catch whatever Scootaloo can throw at you." She said, casting a mischievous glance to her orange friend.

Scootaloo gave Sweetie a sour look. "That was so funny I forgot to laugh." She said, turning back to Palm. "So you wanna join us?"

At this, Palm felt shock. Were they asking her to play? "Um… sure." She said nervously.

"Awesome! Now just stand right there and we'll toss you the ball." Applebloom said, taking the red ball in one hoof and tossing it in the air above her. As the ball came back down, she butted the ball towards Scootaloo with her head. Giggling, Scootaloo returned the ball by butting it towards Sweetie Belle. Careful to not pop the ball with her horn, Sweetie bounced it in Palm's direction.

_Just do what they were doing. Butt the ball!_ Her mind said, as she craned her neck upward as the ball approached her head. She felt the ball bounce off her head and watched it sail towards Applebloom.

"There! Now ya got it!" Applebloom said with a smile, butting the ball to Scootaloo again.

As the circle continued and head-butts ensued, Palm began to giggle at the activity she and the fillies were doing. Soon, the giggling became laughter at what she was doing with the three young ponies. Palm felt a new sensation that day. It was a feeling that she had practically no concept of back in the hive. She felt… fun.

Silver Star walked down the roads of Ponyville, looking at all the ponies he passed by. Mares, stallions, colts, and fillies. Each one was unique in his or her own way. From the interactions they had with each other, to how they managed their livelihoods. Every single pony was a unique part of the town they inhabited. However, they all had one thing in common. Each one of them was a love source that could be harvested and fed on.

Silver Star had to hold back from pouncing onto some random pony and sinking his teeth into the unfortunate creature. _Oh what I'd do to just get one little nibble right now._ He thought hungrily, glancing at a grey earth pony mare with a black mane chatting with a white unicorn mare with a spikey two-tone blue mane with purple shades over her eyes. _The earth pony looks too slim for my taste. The unicorn on the other hand…_ He began to think, but the still focused side of his brain mentally slapped him. _Hold yourself together, Chassis! Remember what Chrysalis said. After this job, then you can feed._

Silver snorted in irritation at his thoughts. "Ugh. I need something to distract me from all this." He muttered to himself, looking for some place to eat. If he couldn't satisfy his hunger for love, then he could settle his stomach's need for food.

He browsed the shops along the street, looking for a decent looking place to chow down. _So what am I in the mood for? _He thought as a rather ornate looking restaurant with an outdoor collection of tables crossed his vision. _Nah. Too fancy for me._ Silver Star thought, continuing his search. His search for a place to eat ended at a multistory building that looked like it was made out of dessert food. The roof was brown with white designs on it, almost making it look like the top of a cake. From the roof was a small tower that looked like it had pink ice cream on top of the spire. Hanging outside the purple doorway was a sign that read_ Sugarcube Corner_.

"Sugarcube Corner, eh? Well I could use something sweet right about now." Silver told himself, walking up to the store's door and opened it. The disguised changeling looked around in awe at the interior of the shop. The wooden floor was painted a deep turquoise and had a couple green rugs on it. The walls were a light brown with candy designs all over them. Several peppermint-looking spiraling columns held up chocolate brown archways over the counter. In front of the counter was a glass display of several sweets like cupcakes and pies. Just the sight of the sweets made Silver's mouth water.

"May I help you?" A jovial voice asked from behind the counter. Silver Star looked to see a light teal earth pony mare with a swirly two-tone purple mane standing behind the counter with a smile on her face.

Silver Star approached the counter, his expression mirroring the mare's. "Yes you may. What kind of cookies do you sell here?" he asked warmly.

"You name it, we got it." The mare responded in the same manner.

"Any kind of cookie, eh?" Silver asked, putting a hoof to his chin as he began to wonder what kind of cookie he wanted. After a few moments, he had made his decision. "I'll have a chocolate cookie with vanilla chips please."

"Certainly, sir. That'll be four bits." The mare said, turning to a pair of saloon-style doors to her right while waiting for the stallion to get his bits out. "Pinkie! Chocolate cookie with vanilla chips!" She called to some pony in what Silver assumed was the kitchen.

"Sure thing, Mrs. Cake! I'll have it out lickety-split!" A high-pitched female voice said from behind the doors.

During all this, Silver reached a black hoof into a bag of bits he had gotten from Speedy before embarking on his recon of the town and pulled out four gold coins. Placing them on the counter, he received a "thank you" from the mare.

"So you're name's Mrs. Cake?" Silver asked, trying to get information on the ponies he interacting with.

The teal mare nodded. "Certainly is. My husband and I own, live, and work here at Sugarcube Corner. The mare that'll be bringing out your cookie is named Pinkie Pie. Speaking of whom, you don't look familiar. Are you new here?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes I am. Just came through and wanted to see the town." Silver responded.

"Oh boy." Mrs. Cake said, putting a hoof to her face. "Well be ready. Pinkie loves to meet new ponies."

As if on cue, a pink earth pony mare with a darker pink poofy mane and bright blue eyes stepped out of the kitchen, holding a ceramic white plate, on which was a dark brown cookie with crème-colored vanilla chips.

"One chocolate cookie with… vanilla…" Pinkie's ecstatic voice trailed off as she looked at who had ordered the sweet treat. The pink mare slowly set the plate on the counter, not taking her eyes off the newcomer. As soon as the plate touched the wooden counter, she became a pink blur that rushed past Silver and up a staircase that was behind him.

Silver looked at the staircase, trying to contemplate what he just saw. He turned back to Mrs. Cake. "Did I do something wrong?"

Mrs. Cake shook her head. "No, dear. But you'll find out what she's planning soon enough." She said with a slight smile. "Enjoy the cookie." She said, pushing the plated cookie towards a very confused Silver Star.

**Again, I am REALLY sorry about this chapter taking so long. Finishing up summer school and getting ready for the fall semester is a bit more time-consuming than I originally thought. However, that will not stop me from getting more chapters to you good people! Until next time!**

**-Alphadude**


	18. Chapter 16

**Guardians of Light: A Shadow Forms**

**Chapter 16**

-Hall of the Guardians, desert beneath Saddle Arabia-

It was still throughout the hall. The dusty walls and floor echoed no sound. No living creature had set foot in the hall in over two hundred years. Colorful banners and tapestries lined the walls, providing the only source of color to the bleak hall. The decorated banners on the walls, each telling tales of old, stood as monuments to events since time immemorial. In the center of the hall, a circular hole in the ceiling of the hall shed light on a single spot. Aside from the sunlit center, the only sources of light were torches on the walls that burned bright, casting flickering shadows on the floor below. All was still. Just the way the Keeper liked it.

Suddenly, a bright white flash of light illuminated atrium of the hall, revealing one that had not stepped foot in the Hall for more than a thousand years. The intruder looked around the torch-lit room and walked to the center, going into the sunlit patch on the floor.

Putting a brown paw near his muzzle, the intruder made himself known. "Hello? Is anyone still here?" He asked tentatively. Not hearing a response, the newcomer scratched his head with a clawed hand. "Oh come on, Keeper. I know you're still here. Don't you remember the voice of an old friend?" He said, looking around, trying to find the being that guarded the Hall.

"This voice I remember, but it is not one that I would associate with a friend's." A deep voice filled the chamber. The newcomer turned his horned head in all directions, trying to find the source. "You should not have come here." The voice said in a dangerous tone.

Suddenly, the stone floor broke up around him as purple tendrils of magic shot up from the ground. The intruder had only seconds to react before the tendrils ensnared him in their vice-like grasp. Wrapping themselves around his arms, legs, and wings, the tendrils pulled the writhing intruder to the ground.

"What's the big idea? Don't you remember me?" The trespasser asked, struggling to get out of the tendrils.

"Of course I remember you. That is why I am taking precautions." The voice said from behind the intruder.

Turning his head to see the source of the voice, the intruder was both pleased and frightened at the creature that stood before him.

Standing before him was what looked like a ghost clothed only in a brown cloak. A transparent grey being in the shape of a large eel-like serpent with two arms and hands floated a few feet above the ground, standing tall above the bound visitor. The translucent serpent's body was similar to the body size of the intruder's, but a bit bigger. The brown cloak's hood covered the head of the serpent, concealing his facial features. However, only two things were visible from underneath the hood. One was the serpent's snout, the grey transparent muzzle sticking out of the cover of the hood. The other feature, however, was much more noticeable. It was the glowing purple eyes that were staring into the intruder's as though looking into his chaotic soul.

"Discord." The serpent ghoul said in a poisonous tone, earning a strained wave from the bound draconequus.

"Long time, no see, pal." Discord said with a toothy grin.

"What are you doing here? I thought you were sealed away for eternity." The serpent said in an almost confused manner.

"Well long story short, I am no longer the chaotic monster you knew me to be. I have been reformed by the Elements of Harmony." Discord proudly proclaimed, his voice echoing off the stone walls of the hall.

The serpent's purple eyes widened at hearing this, then reverted back to their narrowed state. "I sense the truth in you, Discord. This is truly a surprising revelation."

"Yes, well we're having a lot of those nowadays, aren't we?" Discord said, narrowing his eyes as his mouth cracked into a grin.

"What are you talking about?" The serpent said, narrowing its eyes at the draconequus.

"Come on, Keeper. You of all beings would know what it is I am talking about." Discord said slyly. "Now if you won't mind getting me out of this little mishap? I think I'd be of more use."

"How do I know this isn't a trick? The last time I saw you in here, you caused quite a mess." The serpent said, bringing old memories to the front of Discord's mind.

Discord rolled his eyes at the presumption. "Oh please. That was millennia ago. I'm a reformed draconequus now. You can trust me."

"An odd phrase coming from you, Discord." The serpent said in a cautious tone.

"You said you sense truth in my words. Why would I have any reason to wreak havoc on this ancient place when I have more important things to do" Discord asked, pushing for his release from the magic's grip.

After thinking for a bit, the serpent nodded. "Very well. But should you have the slightest notion of seeking to bring destruction on this sacred place, then that thought shall be your last." It said dangerously.

"After living for as long as I have, I have no intention on doing such a thing." Discord said with a smile. "Now if you don't mind." He said, lifting his bound arms up to get the Keeper's attention.

The serpent gave a defeated sigh and lifted his hands towards the purple magical clasps around Discord's legs, wings and arms. The serpent's hands glowed a deep purple aura, the magical snares glowing the same color. The magical clasps released Discord's appendages and slithered back into the ground.

Discord got up, rubbing his now free arms with his hands. "Well, so much for the warm welcome I was expecting." He said, folding his arms at the Keeper.

"After what happened last time, did you think I had a choice in what to do if you came back?" The serpent retorted.

Discord looked down and rubbed the back of his head with his lion paw. "Okay you got me there." He admitted.

"So why have you come here?" The serpent asked.

Discord's usually happy attitude disappeared almost immediately. "There is evidence to believe that the Ancient One is coming back." The mere mention of one of that monster's names sent shivers up Discord's spine.

The serpent nodded. "Yes. I have sensed that something large and powerful has returned. Something that can only be stopped by the power of the Guardians."

"I didn't get signs, but was indirectly told that he was coming back." The spirit of chaos said, looking up to the serpent.

"Told?" The serpent asked, pressing Discord to explain himself.

"I was told by Princesses Luna and Celestia of Equestria that they needed Starswirl's journal. From what I understand about the contents, it involves what to do should a certain 'shadow' be released from its prison." Discord said, air quoting the word shadow. "You know as well as I as to what that means." He said, folding his arms.

The Keeper slowly nodded. "Then the dark veil has begun to fall." It said solemnly, turning away from Discord and staring at the story-telling draperies on the wall. "If you knew that I knew about the Dark One's return, why did you come? To warn me of something I was already aware of?"

"Just the opposite, actually." Discord said casually, causing the Keeper turning back around to face him. "Do you have any idea who these Guardians might be?"

The Keeper closed his purple eyes and shook his head. "No. However, there is a piece of Starswirl's prophecy on the matter."

"And what might that be?" Discord asked, folding his arms and raising an eyebrow.

The Keeper cleared his throat as he uttered the part of the prophecy.

"_The Six will become Eight_

_And end the Guardians' wait._

_Guardians of scale and fur hide,_

_Of royalty and countryside,_

_In each other they shall abide_

_Against the Dark One's tide."_

After hearing these words, Discord looked down at the floor in shock. _Surely the prophecy couldn't mean them! The odds of this are a billion to one!_ He thought. _But then again, the odds of me being becoming good weren't so promising either, but they did it._ Discord sighed. He knew what he had to do.

-Sweet Apple Acres, Ponyville-

A loud grunt of effort sounded from the south end of the apple orchard. There was a second grunt and the sound of nine fully-grown red apples hitting the ground followed seconds later. It had been a hard day of work for Applejack, not so much that the amount of work she did had to be done that day, but that she had to take her mind off things.

_Nine apples. Not bad. _The orange earth pony thought as she beheld her work. Applejack looked up in the tree she had just bucked. _A few late bloomers are still up there. I'll get them next week._

Applejack looked to her left and saw a tree that looked just perfect for bucking. The cowpony saw that the apples on the tree were fully-grown and ready to be bucked out off the branches.

"Alrighty then. Ah'll just get these and then head to the barn." Applejack said, immediately stopping midstride. As soon as she said 'barn', memories of the dream came back, flooding her mind. Images of those deformed monsters, her family, and that yellow-eyed _thing_ filled her head, making her shiver at the memories.

_Get a hold of yerself, Applejack! It was just a dream. Nothing more._ She tried to assure herself, but the thoughts just kept coming back, playing over and over again in her mind. The emptiness of the farm in the dream, the feeling of pure fear as she looked at the yellow-eyed alicorn, and many other mixed emotions stirred in her chest.  
Applejack began to hyperventilate, her chest rising and falling in quick bursts as the images refused to leave her mind. The twisted forms of those mutated creatures, those bright yellow eyes, her family's brutalized condition, and other terrible memories filled her head. But one thing would never leave her memory. It was a simple cracking sound, the sound of Applebloom's life being taken. Applejack squeezed her eyes shut, trying to force that particular memory from her mind. But clear as day, Applejack could see the life leave her younger sister's bright orange eyes as her neck was broken. She could see the sickening grin on the grey alicorn's face as he twisted the hooves that held her sister's head and muzzle.

Applejack couldn't take the images anymore. She lay down on the ground and put her hooves over her face, sobbing quietly. In the dream, she had failed. Failed to stop the alicorn and those hideous creatures, failed to free her family, and worst of all, failed to stop Applebloom from dying. A tear rolled down her face and into the soft green grass beneath her.

"Applejack, y'all alright?" A deep voice said next to her. The images in her mind vanished as she was snapped out of her pitiful state. Applejack looked up to see who had spoken to her. Before her stood a tall muscular stallion with a deep red coat and a short cropped golden mane and tail.

"Oh. Hey, Big Mac." Applejack said, relieved that the memories had stopped. "Done with the eastern fields already?"

"Eeyup." Big Macintosh replied flatly. "Y'all almost done buckin' these trees?"

Applejack nodded, looking back at the trees. "Yep. Ah have less than a quarter of the field to go. Ah was just taking a rest break."

"So are y'all alright? Ya looked like y'all were havin' some sort of episode." Big Mac asked, pushing the question.  
Applejack held up a hoof and rubbed her arm. "It was nuthin, sugarcube. Now let's get-" She started to say, but was interrupted by a lightning-fast multicolored blur.

"AJ!" A tomboyish voice shouted from above the two Apple siblings. Applejack and Big Mac looked up to see none other than Rainbow Dash hovering above the trees.

"Rainbow? What're ya doin' here?" Applejack asked, wondering what her friend's intentions were for coming to the farm.

A posh voice spoke up. "We came to check up on you, darling." Applejack looked down to see Rarity standing in front of her.

"Check up on me? What fer?" Applejack asked, noticing Big Mac becoming concerned as well.

"Did you have some sort of freaky dream last night?" Rainbow asked as she began descending towards the group of earth-bound ponies.

Applejack looked down at the ground and slowly nodded.

"She had one too." Rarity said in a surprised whisper.

"Now what's this Ah'm hearing about a dream? It couldn't have been that bad if it was just a nightmare." Big Mac spoke up.

"This wasn't just a nightmare, Mac." Applejack said, looking up at her brother.

"Indeed. It was dream that concerned all of us." Rarity said to Big Macintosh, earning a confused look from the stallion.

"What she means is that each of the Elements of Harmony had a nightmare last night. Just one of us having a nightmare isn't too bad, but all of us in one night? It can't be a coincidence." Rainbow said as her cyan hooves touched the soft ground and her wings retracted to her sides.

Big Macintosh looked to his sister with a concerned look on his face. "Is that what Ah saw ya doing? Having some sort of flashback?"

Applejack nodded. "Ah was, Mac. It was just so bad that it doesn't want to leave mah head."

"What was it about?" Mac asked, now genuinely anxious to know what happened.

"It was about you." Applejack replied, earning a surprised expression from her brother. "Not just you, Mac. It was the whole family. You, Applebloom, and Granny."

"What happened in the dream?" He asked. Applejack looked nervously away from her brother and looked at her friends. They too had concerned expressions on their faces. A hoof touched her shoulder, causing her to look back at Big Mac, whose hoof was resting on her shoulder. He gave her a reassuring smile. "Ah know it must've been bad, but Ah need to know."

Taking a deep breath and letting out a sigh, Applejack began to tell the others about her dream. How she couldn't find anypony on the farm and how she was scared that she might be alone. Applejack told of how she then went to the barn to see if her family was in there. There she found them, along with three mutated creatures in the shapes of a changeling, a griffon, and a pony. Her descriptions caused Rarity to swoon slightly at hearing of such dreadful beings. Applejack then told of how he threatened Applebloom, causing Big Mac to tense up instinctively. She told of how she tried to stop the alicorn, but was intercepted by the creatures. She told of how she was cut and bruised by the creatures, never giving her a chance to get back up. Then she told of the final and most dreadful part of the dream. How she was forced to lie to her family, ending with Applebloom's murder. This earned a collective gasp from Rarity and Rainbow Dash. After that, she told of how she herself was killed, ending the dream.

Big Mac stared at the ground in shock of what he had just heard. Rarity and Rainbow both stood in silent awe and disgust of the dream they'd heard.

"And the rest of y'all had a dream similar to this one?" Big Mac asked, looking up at the other mares. Rainbow and Rarity nodded. Letting out a sigh, Big Mac gave his sister a pleading look. "Ah'll be honest, Applejack. Ah don't like the feelin' Ah'm getting from hearing about this dream and if Ah would, Ah'd stop ya from going on another life-risking adventure. But yer just as involved as the others, so Ah won't stop ya. Just be careful, alright?"

Applejack looked at her brother thoughtfully and nodded. "Ah'll be careful, Big Mac. You just watch out for Granny and Applebloom. You make sure they're alright, and Ah'll make sure Ah stay safe." She said with a reassuring smile.

Without warning, Big Mac pulled Applejack for a big hug. At first surprised by this, Applejack resisted the sudden showing of affection, but then nuzzled into the hug. Rarity and Rainbow watched thoughtfully as the two siblings embraced for several seconds before splitting up.

"Ah gotta go with mah friends." Applejack said, turning away from her brother. She began to walk away with Rarity and Rainbow, but stopped, turning her head to see Big Mac. "Ah promise Ah'll be careful, Mac. Just keep the family safe." She said, turning back and walked off with her friends.

Big Mac never took his eyes off her until she was far out of his sight.

-Streets of Ponyville-

Palm Spring skipped blissfully through the town. She had never experienced such fun in her life. _That was so much fun! I am never leaving this place! _Palm thought, unaware of her quickly dwindling distance between herself and a unicorn mare that was right in front of her. _Fang and Chassis aren't going to believe it when I tell them what happened to-_ Palm's thoughts were interrupted as something slammed into her. She fell back on her haunches from the hit, not knowing what just hit her. Shaking her head, she looked down at what had hit her. To Palm's surprise, she saw an olive-green unicorn mare with a straight cobalt green mane and tail, in which were several silver streaks. On her flank was a trio of musical notes flanked by two hearts. It then dawned on Palm that they had bumped into each other, causing the interruption to her thoughts.

"Oh! I'm sorry about that." Palm said, offering the mare a hoof to grab onto.

The mare took Palm's hoof and pulled herself up. "No problem. I guess I should have looked where I was going."

"Yeah, same here. Sorry about that by the way." Palm said, giving the mare an apologetic look.

"It's alright, uh…" The mare said, pushing for the name of the pony that had bumped into her.

"Palm Spring." Palm said, offering her hoof to be shaken. "And you are?"

"Misty Melody." The mare said, shaking Palm's hoof.

"So, Misty, whatcha up to?" Palm asked.

Misty shrugged. "Not much. Just getting ready to Cheerilee to plan on when I can teach her class." Misty said with a hint of pride in her voice.

"You teach?" Palm asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah. I teach history and music." Misty said with a smile.

Palm's ears perked at this. "History and music? How'd you come to teaching those?" she asked.

"As a filly I had an insatiable fascination with the two subjects. Eventually I began to teach as a substitute. That's why I'm heading to the school right now. Speaking of which, mind telling me where that is? I have a terrible time remembering things like that." Misty said, shaking her head at her own forgetfulness.

Palm pointed up the hill that was behind her. "Straight up that hill. Should be the first thing you see on your right."

Misty gave Palm a grateful smile. "Thanks, Palm. Hope to see you again soon." She said, trotting past Palm and up the hill towards the red schoolhouse.  
Palm watched Misty climb the hill with a gleeful look. _Did I just make another friend?_ She thought, a smile spreading wide on her face. First those three fillies at the school and now the mare she'd just run into. _Wow. In one day I have made more friends than I ever did in the hive._ At this, she began to think about her fellow changelings and the state they were in. The hive was crumbling and she knew it. Chrysalis was practically leading a broken empire at this point. Three changelings leaving wouldn't make a difference.

_Hang on, Cipha. That kind of thinking is treason and desertion._ The still loyal part of her brain spoke up.

_I suppose. But I'm still not looking forward to leaving this place. _Said the part of her brain that was still enthralled by everything she'd seen and done in Ponyville that day.

_Hey, Chrysalis said that after this job, you can feed. You need to feed as much as Fang and Chassis. If not for yourself, do it for them as well._ The hive-loyal part of her mind said. True, Cipha felt responsible for both Fang and Chassis, not wanting her companions to pay for her misgivings.

_Okay. I'll stick to the mission at hand._ She thought, resuming her stroll through Ponyville's streets. Even though she would never admit it, she knew that the seeds of treachery were sown in her head. Deserting the hive meant death upon being found. Letting out a sigh, Palm pushed these thoughts to the back of her mind to be dealt with later. For now, she had to meet up with Fang and Chassis back at the rental house.

-12 Hoofington Road, Ponyville-

By the time Cipha had gotten back to the house, the sun was already starting to set. It had been a long and exhausting day, and Cipha needed to rest. Cipha walked up to the rental house and opened the door. Cipha looked and saw Fang and Chassis, still in their disguised forms, sitting on the floor and looking at a note.

"What are you guys doing?" Cipha asked, turning to close the window shades.

Fang looked up from the note and saw Cipha. A slight smile graced his features. "Hey, Cipha. Chassis and I came back to the house and found this on the door." He said, gesturing to the note.

As Cipha closed the window shades, a green fire surrounded her body and worded its way from her tail to her head. Her light brown fur and cinnamon brown mane changed back into black fur and a deep slimy blue mane. Opening her bright green eyes, she let out a sigh of relief. "Ah, that's better. So what does the note say?"

"It looks like some sort of invitation." Chassis said, taking the note and handing it to Cipha. Cipha took the letter and began to read.

_Dear newcomers to Ponyville,_

_Salutations! You are cordially invited to attend a Welcome to Ponyville party that is being held at Sugarcube Corner tomorrow evening at 5:00 PM. No need to wear anything formal, as this will just be a friendly get-together. Hope to see you there and we'll make sure to save some cake for you!_

_Sincerely,_

_Pinkie Pie_

"Pinkie Pie? Who is that?" Cipha asked, putting the note back on the floor.

"She was an employee at this sweets shop I went to today. I guess she wants to meet us." Chassis said, putting a hoof to his chin.

"Wait a minute, how did she know there were more of us. She expressly writes 'newcomers' in the greeting. How could she have known that?" Fang asked, getting a look of worry from Cipha.

"Were we found out and we just don't know it?" Cipha asked nervously.

"Impossible. There's no way these ponies could have figured it out so quickly. It's probably just an invitation for multiple ponies that happen to be new here the same as us." Chassis said.

"But this house is the only one I saw with the note." Fang said. "Whoever this 'Pinkie Pie' is, we'd better keep our eyes on her."

"Agreed. Tomorrow, we'll take every precaution to not be caught and find out at the party how this 'Pinkie" knows what she knows." Cipha suggested, earning nods from Fang and Chassis.

"Well we'd better get some rest. We've got a long day ahead of us tomorrow." Chassis said, walking towards his room.

"Sounds good." Fang said with a yawn. "G'night, Chassis. G'night Cipha." He said, going to his own room as well.

"Night." Cipha said, going upstairs to her room.

As the three changelings slept that night, two ponies and a dragon made their way towards Sugarcube Corner on the other side of town, ready to help their bouncy pink friend as the day began to draw to a close.


	19. Chapter 17

**Guardians of Light: A Shadow Forms**

**Chapter 17**

-Changeling Hive-

The moon shone brightly through the cave entrance to the hive, casting a soft silver light into the opening. All was quiet in the hive. Most of the drones were sleeping after a long day of trying to scrounge up any love sources they could find and those that weren't sleeping were the guards that silently kept watch over the hive.

Chrysalis took a deep breath of the cool night air and let out a sigh. _How my mother would be ashamed of me if she were still here._ She thought.

Chrysalis's mother was the queen of the hive before her death, upon which Chrysalis took the throne. But before she died, Chrysalis's mother made sure that her daughter was as prepared as she could be for when she would be ruler of the hive. She was taught directly from her mother on how to rule with an iron hoof, making sure that nothing opposed her reign.

"Is everything alright, Your Majesty?" A voice from behind Chrysalis asked. She turned her head to see Raspian standing behind her, a concerned look on his face.

Chrysalis turned her head to look outside again and closed her eyes. "Everything is fine, Raspian. Just thinking is all." The changeling queen replied.

Raspian nodded his head. "Ah. Well I have come to report that all the worker drones are in their quarters and are fast asleep." Raspian said.

Chrysalis smiled at this news. "Good. Hopefully my subjects will have solace from daily dangers in their dreams."

Raspian looked at the cave floor with a grimace on his face. He knew what dangers changelings faced on a day-to-day basis. Maybe the queen was right. Dreams would prove to be a nice getaway from their daily lives.

"I've always stood by your side, Your Majesty. I hope you realize that." Raspian said earnestly. Chrysalis turned around to face her captain, giving him a confused look.

"What makes you say that, Captain?" Chrysalis asked, not understanding why he said what he did.

"I've overheard some of the drones talking of dissent and desertion." Raspian said, lowering his head.

Chrysalis nodded. "In times like these, I shouldn't be surprised about things like that. The way things are right now, I'm surprised that my subjects are still here." She said, shaking her head. "I have let them down."

Raspian's head shot up and gave the queen a stern look. "Don't say that." He said in an angry tone.

"But it's true." Chrysalis said, hanging her head.

"No. Don't say that." Raspian said louder this time.

"I could be so much better as a ruler. My subjects deserve-"

"Chrysalis!" Raspian shouted, snapping his queen out of her pitiful state. Chrysalis gave Raspian a surprised look. He'd never snapped at her like that before, let alone spoke her name in such an informal manner.

"Forgive me, Your Majesty, but I needed to get your attention." Raspian said nervously.

"You have it, Captain." Chrysalis said, regaining her composure.

"You shouldn't be beating yourself up like this, Your Majesty. Were it not for you, we wouldn't have become what we are today." Raspian said, earning a snort from the changeling queen.

"Thank you, Raspian. That says a lot." She said, sarcasm lacing her words.

"No no no. I don't mean like that." Raspian said, quick to try to recover. "What I mean was that without you, we'd still be having power struggles and we wouldn't have learned how to harvest love in the most efficient way possible."

Chrysalis smirked. "Thank you for the kind words, Raspian. But that doesn't mean I've been a good ruler. A peaceful transition of power and a new method of love-gathering do not make a good ruler." Chrysalis said as a rebuttal.

Raspian put a hoof to his chin, thinking of ways to cheer her up. "Well all the same, my queen, you have been a great leader. A great leader that was just dealt some bad cards to play."

"Well it's nice to know that I'm merely a victim of circumstance." Chrysalis said coldly.

Now Raspian was out of ideas. _Is there anything I can say to make her stop beating herself up?_

"I appreciate what you are trying to do, Raspian. However, there is only one thing that can restore happiness to my soul." Chrysalis said, catching Raspian's attention.

"And what is that?" He asked.

"That my people prosper once again." She said.

"Easier said than done." Raspian said with a slight chuckle.

"Too true, Captain." Chrysalis said, a small grin gracing her visage.

Raspian walked up to Chrysalis and touched her hoof with his. Chrysalis looked to her captain and gave him a confused look. "Well no matter what happens, I will be by your side as you try to find a way out of this mess."

Chrysalis was touched by the loyalty of her captain. "Thank you, Raspian. It helps me to have a comforting voice in this tumultuous time."

"I am here, to serve, your Majesty." Raspian said, bowing his head to her.

The grin on Chrysalis's face grew into a smile. "Now off with you, Captain. I believe the lower caves need to be patrolled." She said, gesturing back towards the depths of the cave.

"As you wish, my queen." Raspian said, turning around and trotting down the throat of the tunnel, back into the cave. Chrysalis watched as his figure until it disappeared into the darkness of the cave.

Chrysalis took in a deep breath and sighed. _How lucky am I to have such a loyal servant?_ She thought, turning back to the cave entrance and looked up at the starry night sky. _With changelings like Raspian, maybe there is still hope for this hive._ She thought.

For the first time in month, Chrysalis felt a sense of comfort.

-Sugarcube Corner-

"Is it the right time to be doing this?" Spike asked as the group made their way towards Sugarcube Corner. The sun had just gone down and the moon had just begun to emerge from beyond the eastern horizon, casting a silver glow on the town below.

"Of course it is, Spike. Sugarcube Corner just closed, so Pinkie will be available to talk to us with no customers interrupting us." Twilight responded as they neared the confections shop.

"I just hope she's alright. If she had a dream like the ones that we had, I can only imagine what hers was like." Said a concerned Fluttershy.

Twilight turned her head to face her yellow pegasus friend. "I'm sure she'll be fine, Fluttershy. You remember in the forest when all those scary trees were around us and she just laughed at them?" She asked, earning a nod from Fluttershy. "Then I'm sure she's okay."

The group approached the door of the bakery, ready to help their pink friend. Twilight raised her hoof and knocked on the door several times.

"Just a minute!" A voice from inside the bakery said. Moments later, the door swung open, revealing Mrs. Cake. Her apron had splotches of random icing all over it, in addition to pieces of cake that had stuck to the apron using the icing as glue. Her mane hadn't fared the day much better. Specks of white flour and sugar could be seen in her swirly cotton candy pink mane.

"Is this a bad time?" Fluttershy asked, hiding her face behind her long mane.

"No, dearie. Just had a busy day is all." Mrs. Cake said, putting on a smile for the group at her doorstep. "Want to come in?" She asked, pushing the door all the way open for the three of them.

"Actually we would. Any idea where Pinkie is?" Twilight asked, stepping inside the confections shop.

"Pinkie? Oh yeah. She's been up in her room all day. Ever since she saw a new pony in the store today, she's been camping out up there." Mrs. Cake said, looking towards the stairs that lead up to the attic.

"A new pony is in town?" Twilight asked, catching a glance of Spike trying to sneak in a bite of cake that was sitting on the counter.

Spike was within an arm's length of a slice of moist chocolate cake that was laying on the cashier's counter, clearly not being eaten by anyone. _May as well since no one else will have it._ He thought, reaching for the delectable treat in front of him. Suddenly, Spike felt a familiar tug on his ear. _Oh rats._ He thought, trying a last swipe at the cake, but was pulled back before he could grab it. He looked at where he was being pulled and saw Twilight's horn glowing a purple aura. Using her magic, Twilight had grabbed the young dragon by the ear and was pulling him back towards them. As he landed at her side, Spike gave Twilight a venomous look as Mrs. Cake responded.

"Yes, Twilight. And from what I heard Pinkie saying upstairs, it seems that there are more new ponies in town as well." Mrs. Cake said. "Knowing Pinkie, you all have an idea as to what she is doing right now." She said, gesturing upstairs.

The other ponies nodded. "Thanks, Mrs. Cake. But can we go see her?"

Mrs. Cake nodded. "Of course you're welcome to go see her."

"Thanks, Mrs. Cake. We won't be long." Twilight said, giving Mrs. Cake a smile as the group began climbing the stairs.

Twilight, Spike and Fluttershy all climbed the stairs, reaching the door to Pinkie's room. From the outside, Twilight could hear Pinkie talking to herself in a nervous tone. Casting a worried glance at her friends, Twilight knocked on the door.

"Pinkie? It's Twilight. Is everything alright?" Twilight asked tentatively.

Pinkie's talking stopped at the sound of the alicorn's voice. Hoofsteps were heard as Pinkie walked toward the door. Slowly, the door opened, revealing a blue eye looking through the crack.

"Twilight? Is anyone else with you?" Pinkie asked through the door crack.

Twilight put on a confused look. "Um… yeah. Just me, Fluttershy and Spike." She said, trying to sound assuring.

"Just you and nopony else?" Pinkie asked.

"Nope. Just us." Fluttershy responded.

As soon as the words left her mouth, Pinkie reached out of the door, grabbed Twilight and pulled her into her room. Letting out a cry of protest, Pinkie shoved a hoof in Twilight's mouth.

"Twilight! I don't want him to hear you." Pinkie said in a hurried voice.

Shoving Pinkie's hoof out of her mouth, Twilight spoke up. "Who to hear what? It's just us." She said, pointing at Fluttershy and Spike.

"Just taking precautions, Twilight." Pinkie said, gesturing for the others to come in. Fluttershy and Spike exchanged looks and walked into the party pony's bedroom.

"What's this all about, Pinks?" Spike asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm throwing a surprise party for some newcomers to Ponyville tomorrow. Based on the plans I've made, it's going to be one of the most super funnerific parties I've ever thrown!" Pinkie said ecstatically.

_Well that explains the strange behavior._ Twilight thought, giving Pinkie a smile. "While that does sound like fun, Pinkie, we have something to talk to you about."

Pinkie turned to her friends and smiled. "What's up?"

"Well… did you happen to have some sort of dream last night?" Fluttershy asked.

The smile vanished from Pinkie's face. "How did you know about that? Did Gummy tell you about it?" She asked, turning her head to see her toothless pet alligator gumming a yellow balloon in the corner. "I'm watching you, mister!" She said, glaring at the reptile.

"No, Pinkie. We all had one." Twilight said, putting a hoof on her friend's shoulder.

Pinkie gave her friends a confused look. "But what could that mean? Wouldn't it be something about the Elements if it was all of us?" She asked, rubbing her chin with a hoof.

Spike stepped forward. "I had one too. So I guess it doesn't mean it was about the Elements."

"Hmm." Pinkie hummed. "This calls for an investigation!" She said, pulling out a deerstalker hat and a bubble pipe. Placing the hat on her head and the pipe in her mouth, she assumed a sort of Sherlock Holmes appearance.

"Umm, Pinkie. We actually need to ask what your dream was like." Twilight said. Pinkie's happy demeanor deflated as she took off the hat and pipe.

"Okay. But it was pretty creepy. You sure you want to hear it?" She asked, giving her friends a nervous look.

"Positive." Twilight responded.

Pinkie let out a sigh and began retelling her dream. How she was all alone in a blank plane of existence. She said that after a while, she heard a voice and turned around to find a sadder version of herself. The sadder version of her tried to dissuade Pinkie from liking her friends, but Pinkie resisted and defended her friends from her sadder version's accusations. She then told of how her sadder version's eyes turned yellow and how Pinkie was attacked. Pinkie didn't hold back the details as she said how she was cut and killed by her sadder self. At hearing this, all her friends exchanged shocked looks.

"So you said that your sadder self's eyes turned yellow?" Twilight asked. Pinkie nodded, her usually happy demeanor now replaced by a sad one. "That seems to be a regularity from these dreams. How did you cope with it after you woke up?"

Pinkie's expression lightened up at the question. "I was reminded that laughter makes all your worries go away. I started to chuckle at the bad memories. Soon I was as happy as a buzzing bee in a flower patch." Pinkie said, the smile returning to her visage.

Spike put a clawed hand on Pinkie's shoulder. "It's good to know you're fine, Pinkie." He said earnestly.

Pinkie smiled back at him and nuzzled him. "Thanks, Spikey." She said gratefully.

"Well I've got some thinking to do. Thanks for letting us talk with you, Pinkie." Twilight said as the others turned back towards the door.

"No problem, Twilight. I'll see y'all tomorrow!" She called to her departing friends.

"Bye, Pinkie." Fluttershy and Spike said as they climbed back down the stairs.

As Twilight descended the staircase, thoughts buzzed around in her mind. _She had a dream too. Not only that, her dream had those yellow eyes in it too. What could that mean? _She thought as she got off the stairs.

"Leaving, girls?" Mrs. Cake asked from behind the counter.

"Yeah. We gotta get some sleep." Spike said.

"Okie-dokie then. See y'all later." Mrs. Cake said as she waved goodbye to the departing group.

As they left the bakery, Fluttershy turned to Twilight. "Well I guess I'll turn in for the night. I'll see you tomorrow, Twilight." She said, turning and going off back towards her cottage.

"See ya, Fluttershy." Twilight called, picking up Spike with her magic and placing him on her back. She began walking back towards the library to get ready for bed. Neither of them spoke a word until they got back to the library. Twilight opened the door to her home and walked in, not turning on any of the lights. Spike dismounted off her back as she stepped in.

As they climbed the stairs, Spike spoke up. "So you think you're gonna be able to sleep tonight?" He asked in a concerned tone.

"I don't know if I'll be able to." Twilight said, shaking her head. "The last thing I need is another dream."

"Me too." Spike said as they reached the top of the stairs.

"Well… let me know if you need anything." Twilight said, sliding under the covers of her bed.

"Sure thing." Spike said, crawling into his basket bed and pulling the blue blanket over himself.

"Goodnight, Spike." Twilight said sleepily. Receiving no reply, she assumed he was already asleep. It had been a busy day for all of them. _I just hope that whatever caused those dreams doesn't strike again tonight. I don't think I can handle two nights of barely any sleep._ She thought.

Twilight soon felt sleep begin to wash over her. She heaved a sigh and with that, her mind was in the dreamscape.

Outside the tree library, a floating draconequus watched the pony and dragon fall asleep. He folded his arms as he began to think. The Keeper's prophecy was pretty specific, perhaps too specific. He recounted the exchange he observed between them and Pinkie and began planning. _Pinkie's throwing a party tomorrow, eh? After that is over, I'll make sure to tell them._ He thought, disappearing into the night with a white flash.

-Sky above Aeolus-

Hawkeye flew over the vast lakes beneath him, the moonlight glistening off the waves below. The lakeside flora and fauna flourished alongside the lake, providing food and shelter for the little critters below. Hawkeye had never fancied himself a lover of nature, yet there was not denying its beauty.

_Strange how even in these troublesome times, the most calming and beauteous of things stand out the most._ He thought as he grazed a nearby cloud with his wing, sending wispy cloud vapor into the night air.

He looked down again and saw something very different from what he'd seen mere moments ago. Down below was a large collection of torches that brightened up a griffon training camp. Hawkeye shook his head.

_Why must our nations quarrel like they do? We are all the griffons. We all eat the same food, have the same blood, and have the same feathers and beaks. But how is it that we remain divided?_ He thought as a sour look found itself on his face. Frankly, he'd been as sick as any other griffon of the fact that the East and West just could not get along. To Hawkeye, it would take a miracle for the two nations to unite. _I just hope that father's meeting went successfully. _He thought as optimism soon found its way into his head. Then the realistic side of his brain slapped him back into reality. _And maybe the council members will finally agree on something and a beautiful rainbow will grace the sky as griffons all over the land rejoice and eat pudding in celebration._

Shaking the thoughts out of his mind, Hawkeye neared his home. It was a simple house. It was a one-story cubic structure erected from clouds. The clouds looked like bricks stacked on top of one another from the design that was carved into them. A simple wooden double door was the main entryway in the front of the cloud house. Next to the door was the crest of the family that Hawkeye came from. It was a symbol of a shield, on which a golden eagle clutched a sword in its claws. Circular windows lined the walls, all of which had no light shining through them._ Maybe they've already gone to bed._ Hawkeye thought, a grin spreading across his face.

Hawkeye landed on the cloud in front of the door, ready to sneak in. Holding up a claw, he inserted it into the door's key lock. Hawkeye knew his way around locks and how to pick them. Hawkeye had imagined that if he were a pony, he'd have a cutie mark in lock picking. He began to feel for the tumblers, gingerly testing each one. It wasn't the first time he'd picked that particular lock, so within seconds, he'd picked his way past the lock. Quietly opening the door, Hawkeye peeked his head inside to check if anyone was there. Seeing no one, the griffon crept inside, closing the door behind him and locking it as quietly as he could.

Hawkeye entered the house's atrium, taking note that his mother had cleaned up while he was gone. A large circular rug was placed in the center of the room. On the rug was a stitched design of the same coat of arms that was outside the doorway. On opposite sides of each other were tables that displayed family portraits through the years. Walking past these, Hawkeye made his way down a hall that was on the far side of the room.

_Okay. Here's the tricky part._ Hawkeye thought. Getting past his parent's room unnoticed was often the most difficult part of breaking back into his family's house. He then began to discreetly tiptoe his way down the hallway, not making a sound. Hawkeye held his breath as he passed his parents' wooden bedroom door. His room was right down the hall, just mere yards from his current position. Hawkeye gingerly walked to the door and exhaled a silent sigh of relief. _Yes!_ Hawkeye thought as his claw grasped the door handle.

"Have a nice evening?" A gruff voice from behind Hawkeye asked. Hawkeye gritted his teeth as he realized that he'd been caught. He slowly turned around and was greeted by the sight of his father.

Hawkeye nervously smiled and waved his shaking claws. "Hello." He strained to say, trying not to put too much pressure on his vocal cords.

Hawkeye's father pinched his beak with his claws and closed his eyes. "How many times have I told you about the rules we have around here?"

"I'm… sorry. Visited… Gilda." Hawkeye said, earning a scathing look from his father.

"No notes letting us know where you were? No notifications? I came back from that council expecting my whole family to be there, only to find out my son was off with some crush while our country screams for war." Hawkeye's father said in a low whisper. "Hawkeye, I love you and support you in what you do, but please return the favor by showing a little more support when I try to talk our country off the bridge it's currently on."

Hawkeye hung his head. He knew he shouldn't have been out with Gilda so late, but time had a habit of flying by when he was with her. "Sorry. Won't… happen again." He said ashamedly.

Hawkeye's father sighed. "To bed with you. We'll discuss this later." He said gesturing towards the Hawkeye's room.

Hawkeye turned back to his bedroom door and opened it. Hawkeye's father watched him trudge into his room and close the door behind him. As soon as the door clicked shut, Hawkeye's father turned back and headed back to his own room.

He opened it to find it in the same condition as it was when he left it minutes ago. The multi-patterned rug sat under the bed, spanning the floor of the room, decorating the floor with coats of arms and various symbols of the Western Kingdom. There was the purple-sheeted king-sized bed against the wall, wooden nightstands flanking it on either side. Opposite the bed was a vanity where his wife's perfumes and beauty accessories were stored. To the right of the bed was a windowsill where various potted plants sat, ready to taking in sunlight in the morning. There was one difference, however. Hawkeye's mother was sitting up in bed, her claws folded over her brown-feathered chest.

"What was that all about?" Hawkeye's mother asked, her black-feathered face conveying an expression of concern.

"Just caught Hawkeye coming in late again." He replied, climbing back into the bed next to his wife.

"Oh give the boy a rest, Cloudius." The griffon general's wife snapped.

"He needs to learn responsibility for his actions, Avia. At the very least he should learn to be careful. The way the country is right now, a drafting agent could have spotted him on the way home and dragged him into the reserves." Cloudius responded.

"And you were any less reckless at your age?" Avia said, raising an eyebrow at her husband.

"That's not the point." Cloudius retorted. "Besides, the Sky-Shield name must be upheld and I won't have it tarnished by the gallivanting actions of my son."

"At least try to be less strict with him. With his paresis, he has enough trouble on his own." Avia said, Cloudius flinching at the mention of his son's speech condition.

"I suppose. But I'm still going to talk to him." Cloudius said, lying down on the bed.

"Good. Now let's get some sleep." Avia said, lying down next to her husband.

Soon the Sky-Shield house was sleeping as peacefully as the night around them.

**Author's note:**

**Hey there, Fanfiction! This is just a heads up in regards to the upcoming week. My family and I will be going on vacation for the next week, but the place where we're going will not have a wi-fi connection for me to upload chapters. I will try to get some work in for the next chapter while I'm gone, but don't expect anything until the week after this next one. Review/Critique and I hope you guys liked the chapter!**


	20. Chapter 18

**Guardians of Light: A Shadow Forms**

**Chapter 18**

-12 Hoofington Road, Ponyville-

The morning sun shone brightly as it rose in the east, painting the sky a bright orange. The birds in the trees chirped and sang, signaling the new day as the residents of Ponyville began to awaken. While most enjoyed the morning's greeting, one upset changeling did not.

"Stupid birds. Why can't they just shut up?" Chassis growled from under the covers of his bed. Chassis gripped his sheets and pulled them tighter over himself, trying to muffle the chirping sounds. The birds kept singing regardless of the changeling's attempts. _This is probably the one thing that the hive had that this place doesn't. A quiet morning so that I can take my time getting up._ Chassis thought as he rolled in his bed, trying to get more comfortable.

"Chassis! You're not sleeping in, are you?" A female voice shouted from outside Chassis's room.

Chassis lifted the sheets off of himself and looked at the wooden door. "No, mother!" Chassis hollered back sarcastically, dragging the covers back over him.

The clopping of hoofsteps was heard outside the door, getting louder as they approached the sleepy changeling's room. The door swung open revealing a rather peeved Cipha.

"Chassis! We have work to do here and you're just sleeping?" Cipha asked in disbelief.

"I cannot recall a morning where I got out of bed before midday back at the hive. I don't intend to break that tradition here." Chassis groaned.

Cipha shook her head at the lazy changeling and strolled to his bedside. Grabbing the covers with her teeth, she yanked the sheets right off the slothful changeling.

"Gah!" Chassis shouted in surprise as a sudden chill ran over his body. "What they hay, Cipha? I was going to get up eventually."

"Your definition of 'eventually' would be after lunchtime." Cipha said, giving Chassis a disapproving look.

"Oh well." Chassis said, sliding off the bed's mattress and landing on his hooves. "So now that you have me out of bed, what now?"

"Breakfast. Fang and I made some food with the supplies that were already in the kitchen." Cipha responded.

Chassis lifted his muzzle and smelled the morning air. Sure enough, he could tell the distinct smells of oiled grasses cooking in a skillet. "Hmm. Well I suppose I can get up for that." He said, trudging towards the doorway that led to the house's atrium.

"That's more like it." Cipha said cheerfully, mentally patting herself on the back as she followed her disgruntled counterpart out of the room.

Upon entering the atrium of the house, Chassis and Cipha noticed to the left to see Fang laboring over the cooking meal in the kitchen. Whiffs of smoke billowed from the pan, rising up until dispersing as it hit the ceiling. Fang's twisted horn glowed neon green as he levitated a spatula, spreading the grass to cook it evenly on the pan's surface. Around his neck was a pink cloth tie holding something up.

"Fang? What's that you got on?" Chassis asked.

Fang looked up from the pan and looked behind him. "Well look who's finally up." He said, earning a frown from Chassis.

Chassis rolled his eyes at the snide remark. "Yeah, yeah, so I was late getting up. Could we please move on?" Chassis said, ready to change the subject of the conversation.

"Just teasing, dude. And as to the question you asked, here's the answer." Fang replied, turning around to face Chassis and Cipha.

What the two changelings saw made them start snickering at the changeling cook. Around Fang's neck was a bright pink apron with the words _Mr. Good-lookin' is cookin' _in bold blue letters.

Chassis was trying his best to contain his laughter at how ridiculous the apron looked on Fang, but ended up busting out laughing anyways. It was only a few seconds later when Cipha began laughing at Fang's appearance as well.

"Yeah, sure. Laugh it up, guys." Fang said with a slight smile, rolling his eyes and going back to cooking.

"Where in the world did you get that thing?" Chassis asked, taking a break from laughing to catch his breath.

"Found it in one of the cupboards and figured I'd use it. Plus I think it looks good on me." Fang said, putting on a confident look.

"You do realize that we're never going to let this go, right?" Cipha asked with a smile.

"I wouldn't expect anything else." Fang responded, levitating the pan off the stove with his magic. "Well, breakfast is ready." He announced, carrying it over to the table where three plates were set. Using the spatula, Fang scraped some cooked grass from the pan and put it on each of the plates. The three sat down and began enjoying their food.

After taking a few bites, Cipha spoke up. "Well thanks for breakfast, Fang. This grass is pretty good. Where'd you learn to cook? I never saw you do anything like this at the hive." She said, taking another bite.

"Well it was during a hunt I did a while back. I couldn't do anything while they were awake so I had to wait until they were asleep before I could feed. But during the time I waited, I saw how they prepared their food and took the process to memory." Fang said, proud that his first cooking experience had gone so well.

"Well I'll give it to ya, this is good stuff." Chassis said, chomping on some grass still in his mouth.

"Thanks, guys. So either of you know what the plan is today?" Fang said, changing the topic.

"Well we need to find that 'Pinkie Pie' and I think this party tonight will be our only real chance of getting to her." Cipha suggested.

"Absolutely. But how can we do this in a covert manner?" Fang asked, rubbing his chin with a hoof.

The three changelings pondered the dilemma until Chassis spoke up. "It's going to be a party, and lots of ponies go to parties. I say that we take her in the middle of the party pandemonium and question her later."

"I don't think that ponynapping will be the best answer." Cipha said with a sigh.

"Why not?" Chassis asked the skeptical changeling.

Cipha gave Chassis a stern look. "For one, this 'Pinkie' won't respond to our questions if we hold her against her will. Second, what if somepony were to see us or find her? It would jeopardize our whole operation. And lastly, what do we do with her even if she answers our questions? She'd blab to somepony about it and then we'd be through." She said, shooting down Chassis's suggestion.

"What if we just ask her when we get there?" Fang suggested. "It won't seem out of the ordinary, seeing as we're new here, and she'll answer us. Plus, we could use the part to another advantage."

"What advantage might that be?" Chassis asked, folding his hooves.

"Remember our main objective. We need to find a powerful unicorn that can help us out. If we scout out the party, we just might find sompony that will meet those standards." Fang said with a smile as he rubbed his hooves together.

Cipha nodded in agreement. "Good idea, Fang. So until the party starts, what do we do until then?"

"We get ready to go to the festivities." Chassis responded, getting up from the table and going to the main door of the house.

"Where are you going?" Cipha asked.

"To check out the town a little more. Today is our last full day here. May as well get a last look around and try to find out more about this place." Chassis said, a green glow beginning to emanate from his horn. A green energy wave washed over his body, transforming his features. Within seconds, Chassis had changed from a changeling into the Ponyville newcomer, Silver Star.

Silver Star pushed open the door and walked outside into the morning sunlight, ready to find any last morsels of information before they had to go.

-Ponyville Library-

Twilight's eyes fluttered open, her vision instantly flooded by the sunlight that poured through her bedside window. Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, she peered over the edge of her bed to see Spike sleeping soundly in his basket bed. Twilight smiled as she heard the soft snores that came from the young dragon.

_No dreams last night. And it looks like Spike had a good night's sleep as well. _Twilight thought, reflecting on her peaceful rest the previous night. _I suppose that's a good thing._ She figured as she slid out of bed, careful not to make too much noise.

Her hooves made slight creaking sounds as Twilight descended the wooden staircase.

Twilight halted on the stairs as something caught her ear. "Hoot." She looked around, recognizing the sound.

"Owlowiscius? Where are you?" Twilight asked in a quiet tone, trying to let Spike continue sleeping. A flapping of wings above her caused Twilight to look up. She smiled as she saw her pet owl, Owlowiscius, hovering above the staircase.

"Good morning to you too." Twilight greeted the light amber brown owl.

"Hoo-hoot." Owlowiscius responded happily, flapping his brown wings slower as he descended to Twilight's eye level.

"So everything went well last night?" Twilight asked. The owl nodded in reply. "Well that's good to hear." She said with a smile. Twilight looked out the window and saw the sun brightening the morning sky. "Well seeing as the nighttime is over, you are relieved until further notice, Owlowiscius."

Owlowiscius landed on his wooden stand and lifted his wing in a salute, earning a chuckle from his purple owner.

Once on the ground floor, Twilight made her way to the kitchen. She didn't get far before hearing some laughter coming from outside. Curious as to where the laughter came from, Twilight looked out the window and looked across the street. In the house across from the library, she saw the silhouettes of two ponies laughing hysterically at a third pony that appeared to be doing something over a stove. _Sheesh. Keep it down a bit, will ya? _Twilight thought. _Anyways, time for some breakfast._ She thought happily as she trotted towards the kitchen.

As Twilight entered her kitchen, something white against the brown wood caught her eye. Something about the strange object drew her to it as Twilight approached it. Twilight looked down it and her breath hitched at what she saw.

"How is it here?" Twilight asked in disbelief. Before her sat the white book. It was the same white book that brought her into that terrible dream the other night. However, there was something different about it. Instead of a pearl in the center, there was a diamond-shaped amethyst.

Twilight's eyebrow rose slightly at noticing the different stone that was embedded in the cover. _Should I look at it? What if that awful dream happens again?_

"No terror will you see in this book." A low voice said.

Twilight's ears perked up as she looked around for the source of the voice. "Hello? Where are you?" She asked nervously.

"In front of you." The voice said. Twilight turned her head forward and only found the book in front of her.

"You don't sound like the voices I heard the first time." Twilight said, lifting a hoof tentatively.

"That's because I'm not the same being as the monster that inhabited this book previously." The book's voice responded.

Twilight's eyes narrowed at the book. "How can I be sure I can trust you?"

The book's voice was quiet for a few moments. After a while, it spoke up. "After your first encounter with this book, I understand your skepticism. However, there are much larger things at work than simple talking books or strange dreams. They are but the beginning of the events that are to come."

Twilight began to process what this book might be saying. "And what might these events entail?" She questioned.

"Open this book and all your questions will be answered." The voice responded.

Twilight's hoof slowly began to go to the book's cover, both scared and anxious to see what was inside. Mustering up what courage, she had, Twilight pulled the book's cover open.

Spike woke with a yawn. _Man, that was a much better night of sleep than I expected._ He thought, looking up to Twilight's bed. Seeing that she wasn't there, Spike shrugged. _Meh. She's probably just reading or making breakfast._ Sliding out from under his blanket, he hopped out of the basket and began to walk downstairs.

"Twilight? You down here somewhere?" Spike called, wondering where his guardian had gone. Not hearing an answer, Spike became concerned. _Where could she be?_

"Hoot."

Spike's ears perked at the sound. He turned his head to see Owlowiscius sitting on his stand, waving a wing in greeting.

A smile spread on Spike's face at the sight of the owl. "Oh. Good morning, Owlowiscius. Have you seen Twilight anywhere?" Spike asked. Owlowiscius pointed a wing past Spike, causing him to turn to see where the bird was pointing. He looked and saw the hallway leading to the kitchen.

_Well that answers that question._ Spike thought. "Thanks, Owlowiscius." The young dragon said, earning a happy expression from the owl as he descended the rest of the staircase.

"Hey, Twilight, whatcha cooking in there?" Spike asked as he approached the kitchen entrance. Still not hearing a response, Spike's concern returned. Another thing he noticed was that he couldn't smell anything. He should have been able to smell the hay pancakes or toasted daisy sandwiches on his way to the kitchen, but the lack of sensory stimulation only added to his suspicion. "Twilight? What are you doing in-?" Spike began to ask, but was cut short by the sight of his guardian. Twilight was lying on the ground with her back turned to the entrance of the kitchen.

Terror gripped his heart as the young dragon ran to the purple alicorn's side. "Twilight! What happened?" Spike asked, turning her over to face him. What he saw confirmed his worst fears. "Not again!"

-Canterlot Castle-

Luna had lost track of the time. Ever since she woke up in the early morning, she paced the throne room as anxious and worried thoughts had been bouncing around in her mind. _The Shadow is coming back. I won't let him trick me so easily should he attempt to again. But what damage could he do to Equestria?_ She thought as she paced back and forth in the throne room. A clopping sound to her right drew her attention from her thoughts. She turned to see Celestia walking down the hall towards her.

"Have all the guards been alerted?" Luna asked her sister nervously.  
"The sergeants gave the news early this morning. Overtime shifts around the clock are being ordered to all the guardsponies." Celestia said reassuringly.

Luna sighed with relief. "Good. Hopefully the guards are up to the task."

"I know they are." Celestia said, putting a hoof over her sister's shoulders. "But I would be more concerned about you than them right now."

Luna looked up at her sister and gave her a confused look. "Why is that?"

"Think about it. The thing that made you into Nightmare Moon is coming back." Celestia said. Luna hung her head at the memory. "If I were you, I'd be an emotional wreck."

Luna looked back up and gave her sister a grin. "Don't sell yourself short, Tia. If anything, you did more than what I could have done had I been in your shoes."

Celestia gave her sister a thoughtful look. "I appreciate that, Luna. I just hope I don't have to do it again."

"Your Highnesses!" A voice called from the far side of the room. Both princesses looked to see a white-furred guardspony. His golden armor glinted in the sunlight that poured through the multiple stained glass windows. The plume on his helmet was a vibrant red, symbolizing his rank as a sergeant of the Celestial Guard Battalion.

"What is it, Sergeant?" Celestia addressed the guard.

The sergeant did a quick bow to the princesses and resumed his report. "We have sentries all around the perimeter of the castle and we have more en route to the city walls. Within the hour, nothing will get into this city without us knowing about it."

Luna nodded with approval. "Excellent work, Sergeant. Return to your post and report to us should anything develop."

The guard lifted his right hoof and gave the princesses a salute before turning around and walking out of the throne room.

"Well the guards are in position. Should we notify the citizens about this? Surely seeing all these guards patrolling around the city will cause some confusion." Luna pointed out.

Celestia nodded. "I agree. But how gently are we going to put it? We can't just say, 'An ancient evil of unknown power is going to be unleashed within the next few days and will more than likely attack Canterlot as soon as it's out'. It'd start a mass panic."

Luna rubbed her chin with a hoof. "Hmm. We could say that it's a part of an exercise." She suggested.

"An exercise?" Celestia asked in surprise.

Luna nodded. "Yes. We can say that they are practicing more effective ways of patrolling the walls and palace. Everypony will not find it to be unusual and continue with their daily activities."

Celestia pondered this. Slowly, her face softened into an agreeing expression. "You know… that could work. I'll make sure the newspapers and town heralds get that message."

Luna, satisfied that they were further prepared, turned to head out of the throne room when Celestia called to her.

"Luna." She said.

Luna turned her head to her sister. "Yes?"

"Yesterday you mentioned to me that you had some sort of dream the other night." Celestia said in a concerned tone. Luna nodded her head, her mind recalling the dream. "If I may ask, what exactly did it entail?"

Luna swallowed and sighed. "I appeared in Ponyville. I didn't recognize the town at first, but when I got to Twilight's library, that's where it clicked."

Celestia nodded. "Go on."

"I entered the library and was drawn to a book."

Celestia's eyebrow rose. "The same book that Twilight was talking about from her dream?"

"The same. White cover, gold trim, pearl embedded in the center. When I approached the book, it started whispering… things." Luna said.

The sun goddess's eyes narrowed. "What kind of things?"

Luna scoured her memory for what the voices said in the dream. "I can't remember all of them. But I do remember one phrase in particular."

"And that is?" Celestia pushed.

Luna's eyes closed as she solemnly said, "The long night approaches."

The room was silent. Neither sister spoke a word as the phrase sank in. Luna looked for a reaction from her sister, but found none. Celestia stood there with a stone-faced expression, as if contemplating what the words meant.

"Do you know what that means, Tia?" Luna asked, snapping Celestia out of her thoughts.

Celestia heaved a sigh. "If it means what I think it means, then we must be ready to face it." Luna nodded in agreement. "And nopony else knows this?"

Luna shook her head. "Nopony but you and I."

Celestia looked at the stained glass windows that surrounded them. "Good." She said, pausing to think. "Go and alert your guards. They must be as thorough in their patrols in the night as mine are in the day.

Luna nodded and exited the throne room, closing the large golden doors behind her and leaving Celestia in the room by herself.

Celestia sighed and slowly walked back up to her golden throne. She sat down in it and looked at the stained glass around her, each window depicting the major events that occurred in the history of her reign. From Nightmare Moon's banishment to the recovery of the Crystal Empire, she'd been there through it all.

_The long night approaches_. Her mind repeated the phrase. Celestia bowed her head, closed her eyes and sighed, letting a single tear fall from her eye.

**Hey there, FanFiction! Just a heads-up, now that school is approaching, I'll be dedicating more time to getting ready to go back to school. With that in mind, I may not get another chapter to y'all for a couple weeks. However, that doesn't mean I can't surprise you and get a chapter in next week! Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and review/critique.**


	21. Chapter 19

**Surprise, Fanfiction! Turns out I was able to get one more chapter in before going back to school next week! Just a heads-up, don't expect anything until the week after this next one. I'll be pretty busy for the next seven days but I will try to work on a new chapter for all you good people! Review/critique and I hope you guys enjoy the chapter!**

**-Alphadude**

**Guardians of Light: A Shadow Forms**

**Chapter 19**

-Changeling Hive-

_I can't believe they all showed up._ Chrysalis thought as she looked out at the gathering of changelings below her chamber balcony. She had Raspian and the guards call together all the changelings and didn't expect a huge turnout. However, her expectations would shot down when she saw how many had arrived. Below Chrysalis were hundreds, no, thousands of changelings. All of whom were ready to hear what she had to say. _Well. Here it goes._ Chrysalis thought, clearing her throat.

"Drones, sentries, and harvesters! Lend me your ear! For what I am about to tell you is of the utmost importance!" Chrysalis shouted to the masses of the changeling hive before her. From her balcony, there appeared to be thousands of changelings gathered at the foot of cliff on which her chambers resided. Chrysalis smiled at the changelings that she had called together. The time to unveil her plan had come. She'd kept her subjects in the dark for long enough.

"When do we get our food?!" One indignant drone shouted from below. This caused multiple changelings to begin questioning their queen as well.

"Yeah! How many more of us must die before we eat?!" Another cried.

"Are we finally getting something to eat?!" A third asked.

Chrysalis raised her hoof, silencing the crowd. "What I have to tell you all has been a secret for the past couple days." She said, watching as changelings began to look at each other with confused looks on their faces. Chrysalis resumed her announcement. "During an encounter with a very powerful being, Captain Raspian and myself had struck a deal. We free this being, he gives us all of Equestria to feed on."

This stirred up both happiness and skepticism from the crowd below. Voices began to be heard amongst the crowd.

"All of Equestria? We couldn't take one city for ourselves. How can we take the whole country?" One skeptic asked.

"What does it matter?" Another responded. "We can have our food!"

"At what cost? Surely it can't be that easy!" A third objected.

"Would you want to take that chance? Starve to death or make a deal with this creature? What would you choose?" A fourth changeling said.

Again, Chrysalis held up a hoof to dispel the voices. "It was a risk worth taking, my children. You will have your food." She said in a motherly tone. "Raspian and I will depart later this morning to the location of this creature's prison. Once there, I will signal three of our scouts to bring in a unicorn that they had managed to trick into following them."

"A unicorn? What would they need it for?" A voice below shouted.

"It is used as a method for freeing the creature. Our scouts will bring it to us by the second day. In the days following, a revolution will sweep across Equestria, as the tyrannical Princess Celestia will not know what to do in the wake of our wrath." Chrysalis said, earning almost deafening cheers from the crowd below. Hooves stomped, cries of joy were heard, and calls for conquest rang in the hive's atrium. As Chrysalis put up a hoof, the applause was silenced once more. "Wait for me until two days from today. Until then, farewell, my subjects." Chrysalis said, turning back into her chambers.

As she walked through the doors of her chambers, Chrysalis heard something that hadn't been heard throughout the hive in months. Elated cheers echoed throughout the hive as the queen ended her speech. As she listened to the shouts of joy from her people, Chrysalis smiled. Even though they had faced tough times before, they would make it through this time of despair.

_Now to prepare for the journey._ She thought.

Three hours later, Chrysalis stood at the edge of the Changeling Hive, ready to fulfill her mission as the sun began to rise, its yellow rays shining through the hive entrance tunnel. The past few days had been torturous for her and the hive alike. With the creature freed, they'd finally be able to eat freely.

_This is it._ Chrysalis thought, her mind set on the events that were to occur in the next twenty four hours. Everything in the past couple days had gone according to the plan she made with Lodestar. Her scouts had infiltrated Ponyville successfully and were awaiting her command to bring the unicorn to free Lodestar. She had won back the favor of the hive with promises of food and conquest. Immediately afterwards, Chrysalis and Rapsian had created their own false identities to further convince said unicorn of the lie they were presenting him or her. All the arrangements had been set up. Now all that was needed was to carry out the deed.

Chrysalis could feel her objective coming closer to completion as she looked over her new form. She had taken the form of a pegasus with the name Sunshine Ray. Her coat was a vibrant orange while her long yellow mane flourished over her shoulders. Her red eyes almost glowed in the sunlight that came through the tunnel entrance. A smile graced her lips as she prepared herself for what was to come.

"Are we ready to go?" A voice behind Chrysalis asked. She turned her head to see Raspian walking up behind her.

Raspian had taken the form of an earth pony by the name of Timber Pile. His mahogany brown coat accented with his evergreen leaf green mane and tail almost made him look like tree in the form of a pony. His deep green eyes sharply contrasted the sun's rays that came through the tunnel as he squinted against the light. Chrysalis nodded as she reverted to her original form as green energy scanned over her body, transforming her back into the changeling queen of the hive.

"We are, Captain. Nice disguise." Chrysalis assured, her perforated wings stretching outwards.

Raspian gave a shy smile. "Thank you, your Majesty. Do you remember the Lodestar's location?"

"Yes. We should be there by moonrise." Chrysalis said, the smile disappearing from her face.

"Is something wrong, my Queen?" Raspian asked, noting the shift in his queen's facial expression.

Chrysalis was silent for a few moments, as if she was pondering something. After a few seconds, she spoke up. "Whatever happens in the next day, I just want to say thank you, Raspian."

"Thank you? For what?" Raspian asked.

"Over the past few days, you've been at my side through everything. I'd just like to thank you for being there for me when no one else was." Chrysalis said gratefully, her smile returning.

Raspian smiled and then saluted. "Just doing my duty, your Majesty."

Chrysalis nodded and turned back to the entrance of the cave, her wings beginning to buzz. "Ready?"

Raspian's wings began to buzz as he took the signal. "Ready." He replied.

Leaping off the ground, the changeling queen and her captain took to the skies, the buzzing of their wings getting fainter and fainter as they disappeared into the clouds above the hive.

-Ponyville Library-

"Twilight! Wake up! Wake up!" Spike shouted, grabbing the alicorn by her shoulders and shaking her, frantically trying to snap Twilight out of whatever trance she was in. Spike looked over her prone form. She certainly looked like she had just woken up. Twilight's mane was slightly tussled and she still had some sleep in the corners of her eyes. Her eyes though threw Spike for a loop. Last time they were bright yellow. This time they were a glowing purple.

"This can't be happening again." He told himself as genuine terror gripped his heart. Spike's shoulders sagged and tears began to fill his eyes as he realized that he couldn't do anything to help his guardian. _I have to get somepony to help me wake Twilight, but who?_ Spike thought, his mind racing to find a solution. Suddenly, the answer hit him. _I know who to ask for help!_ Spike thought, rushing to get a quill and a piece of paper. He had a letter to send.

Blackness. That's all Twilight could see. She swiveled her head in every direction and couldn't see anything but the infinite darkness around her. She felt weightless as Twilight floated through the empty space, her wings proving useless with no air to lift her up or descend.

Despite all the dark that was around her, Twilight knew that there was more than met the eye with this place. "Hello? Is anypony out there?" Twilight called out into the blackness.

"Hello, Princess Twilight Sparkle, Element of Magic." A voice said from all around her, echoing in the void around her. Nervousness and anxiety filled her mind at the sound of the voice.

_How does this thing know my name?_ Twilight thought, her eyes darting left and right to try to find the source of the voice.

"Fear not, my little pony. You are safe here." The voice said again. Although it sounded endearing, Twilight didn't trust it.

"Where am I?" Twilight asked, raising an eyebrow at the darkness before her.

"You are still in Equestria. The Ponyville Library to be exact." The voice responded.

Twilight's eyebrows rose in surprise. "How? I don't see any semblance of Ponyville anywhere in here."

A low chuckle made Twilight uneasy. "Allow me to explain. Your body is still in the kitchen of your home. Your mind, however, has gone into the book that you opened."

Twilight put a hoof to her chin in thought. Magic that would take a pony's mind from his or her body and put into some other realm? It shouldn't be possible. Yet, here she was.

"How can that be? That kind of magic is virtually unheard of." Twilight protested.

"This magic is but a taste of the power that I can wield. Unfortunately, the same could be said for the previous occupant of this realm." The voice said with a twinge of sympathy at the end.

"Previous occupant?" Twilight asked.

"He has many names, but they all point to one being. That monster is what gave you the illusion you saw that night." The voice said as multiple swirling colors began to materialize in front of Twilight. Twilight narrowed her eyes, trying to make out what the swirling colors were forming. As soon as she realized what they were depicting, she shut her eyes immediately.

The colors formed to make pictures of the dream she had. Ponyville was in flames, the smoke rising into the sky. Dead ponies littered the ground, their blood staining the grass beneath them. Town Hall collapsing, the proud building becoming nothing but rubble and broken wooden beams in a matter of seconds.

"The book you opened is a medium through which the monster and I use for our own purposes. He used it to scare you and to turn your fears into what you perceived as reality." The echoing voice said as the colors began to dissipate back into blackness.

Twilight cautiously opened her eyes again, seeing if the images were still there. To Twilight's relief, they were gone. "So why are you using it?" Twilight asked.

"There are things happening in the world that will soon shake the very foundations of civilization. From Equestria to the Crystal Empire to the Griffon Kingdoms and to Saddle Arabia, the world will feel the wrath of a vengeful evil that has been imprisoned for more than a thousand years." The voice said, images landmarks of each country materializing before Twilight as he listed them off. Before her were images of a few places she recognized like Ponyville, Canterlot, Manehattan, and the Crystal Palace. However, there were a couple locations she wasn't familiar with. There was an image of a bronze pyramid sitting on a cloud in the sky, surrounded on all sides by a large wall. A second image showed a white palace that sat in the middle of an arid desert.

Twilight tried to comprehend what she was seeing and hearing. _An ancient monster trapped for a thousand years is returning? To all these places? Surely the Elements can stop this thing, whatever it is._ Twilight thought as the images faded into black once more.

"Unfortunately, no. They cannot." The voice said. "The first usage of the Elements on this being only delayed the inevitable."

Twilight's eyes widened and her ears dropped in shock. "What?!" Twilight shouted, bewildered by the very notion of the Elements being incapable of handling the threat. "The Elements of Harmony are the most powerful magical tools in Equestria! How are they not enough to fight this thing?"

"Sometimes evil cannot simply be pushed away only for it to come back later. Sometimes, good must put to death that which is evil." The voice said, only deepening Twilight's confusion.

"Put to death?" Twilight asked in shock, the very word 'death' leaving a bitter taste in her mouth. Twilight was willing to do what was necessary to keep Equestria safe, but to kill? That was something else.

"Yes, Twilight Sparkle. There will come a time when good ponies must do bad things to achieve their goals. For now, prepare yourself." The voice said, its sound growing fainter in the darkness.

"Wait!" Twilight shouted into the black. "Prepare for what?"

"Beware, Twilight Sparkle, beware. The long night approaches." The voice said as it faded into nothingness.

As soon as the voice finished the sentence, the blackness around Twilight began to brighten up, causing her to squint against the sudden brightness. Soon, it felt like she lost feeling in her right hoof. Twilight looked down at her hoof and to her surprise, it wasn't there. Twilight looked over herself and gasped at what she saw. Her body was disappearing before her very eyes.

Twilight's watched as everything below her chest disappeared, leaving only her neck and head. "Wait! What's going on?" Twilight asked frantically, but received no answer as the energy crawled up her neck. Soon, the vanishing energy washed over her head, causing her to disappear from the realm.

Twilight's eyes fluttered open, her vision revealing the floor of her home's kitchen. Groaning, Twilight sat up, her head instantly exploding in pain.

"Gah!" She exclaimed, clutching her head with her hooves. It felt like a thousand nails were being hammered into her skull at once.

"Twilight! You're alright!" a voice shouted happily. Twilight turned to see Spike bounding down the hallway towards her. Twilight had little time to react before being tackled into a big hug from the baby dragon.

"Oof!" Twilight huffed a sudden breath of air as Spike squeezed her in his arms. "Did I miss anything, Spike?"

"I'm so glad you're okay!" Spike said into her chest. Twilight put on a thoughtful look and lifted Spike's face to see hers.

"Of course I'm okay Spike. But I need to get an urgent-" Twilight paused midsentence as another migraine washed over her head. She clenched her teeth and rubbed her head until the pain subsided several moments later. "-message to the Princesses."

"What message?" A voice to Twilight's side asked. Twilight and Spike turned to see a certain princess of the night standing in the doorway.

-Canterlot Castle: 1,000 years before Nightmare Moon's return-

"Is she ready to go, Commander Storm?" Celestia asked the battalion commander as she looked out across the castle courtyard from the balcony.

The guard that stood next to Celestia had a stormy gray coat, a short cut jet-black mane and tail, and deep blue eyes. Commander Storm's silver armor glinted in the sunlight as the purple plume on his helmet waved to and fro in the breeze. On his front left hoof was a veiled edge, a seemingly harmless gauntlet that housed a deadly concealable blade that was used by only the most skilled members of the Royal Guard.

"Yes, Princess. Shooting Star has been briefed on the mission and is ready to fly. She awaits your command." Commander Storm responded gruffly.

"Good. Send her out." Celestia ordered. Commander Storm nodded and walked to the edge of the balcony. His horn's tip began to light up with a bright green pulse of magic. When the pulse reached its brightest, Storm shot the magic pulse up in the air like a flare. After a few moments of the flare hanging in the air, Celestia could see a yellow pegasus begin to take off from the barracks.

"She's away." The commander said, cancelling the flare spell as it dissipated into thin air.

"Excellent. Art thou sure that she is up to the task? The recommendations thou gave me seemed promising." Celestia said to Storm.

The commander gave Celestia a grin. "Milady, I believe that Shooting Star is the best scout this stallion has had the privilege to train and send out. She won't disappoint." Storm said in an assuring tone.

"I will hold thee to it." Celestia said, returning the smile. They turned back towards the door that led back into the outer castle chambers.

As they walked down the ornately decorated corridor, Storm gave Celestia a concerned look. "Milady, might I ask a question?"

Celestia looked down at Storm and gave him a thoughtful look. "No need to ask, Commander. Speak what is on thy mind." She responded.

"Thank you, Princess. Forgive me if this is personal, but how is thy sister doing?" He asked, causing Celestia to stop midstride and focus on Storm's question. "She hasn't eaten anything today and barely got any rest the previous night from what I have heard."

Celestia's smile faded at the question. She didn't respond for a few moments, trying to find a way to answer the question without arousing any concern. "My sister is not quite herself right now, but she will come around. Luna has always proven to be resilient in both emotional and physical conditions." Celestia said, seeing if Storm would take the answer and drop it. Celestia hadn't said anything, but over the past couple days she had noticed that Luna was behaving strangely. Dodging questions, staying isolated for most of the day, and only talking when spoken to. It was quite unlike her to be acting this way.

"Thank you, Princess. Forgive me if it was personal, but I only wish to know about the well-being of those I serve." Storm said, slightly bowing his head in reverence of the princess before him.

Celestia's smile returned. "No need to apologize, commander. Thy question was not intended to be offending so I see no reason to feel guilty." She said kindly, earning a smile from Storm.

"Thank you, Princess." Storm said, bowing once more. "Now I must excuse myself to the barracks. There are some trainees that need attending to." He said, turning around and began walking down the corridor that led to outside the castle.

Celestia smiled as she watched the commander exit her presence. _If only all my guards were as loyal as he._ She thought. A fast clopping of hooves to her right drew her attention from the departing commander. To her right, she saw Starswirl the Bearded galloping towards her. As he approached her, Celestia noticed something. She saw a look of concern in his eyes that she had rarely seen before.

"Starswirl. What is the meaning of this?" Celestia asked the now panting unicorn before her.

After a quick bow, Starswirl spoke up. "Princess. I have news regarding the Crystal Empire. You haven't sent the scout already have you?" He asked hastily.

"Shooting Star took off a few minutes ago. Why?" Celestia asked, concern beginning to fill her mind. A look of frustration found its way onto Starswirl's face as he heard the news.

"Hmm. If only I had more time." Starswirl muttered. Turning his attention back to Celestia, he resumed. "I will have to discuss this with both thyself and thy sister. Where is she?"

"In her bedchambers. Shall I go and wake her?" Celestia asked.

"With haste. Meet Clover and I in the library. There is not a moment to lose!" Starswirl said as he turned around and began to gallop back to the library.

_Not a moment to lose? If it's this urgent, then I must get Luna as quickly as possible. But walking to Luna's chambers will take too long. I will have to teleport._ Celestia thought, her horn glowing a bright yellow. With a flash of yellow light, Celestia left the corridor.

Luna lay on her bed, muttering to herself. The past twelve hours had been a mental battle for her. One part of her was saying that Celestia wanted to betray her and take all the power for herself. The other sensible part of her was saying that her sister would never do such a devious thing.

"She wants me gone. Gone. She wants… me..." Luna said to herself.

_No! Celestia is my sister. She would never betray me like that!_ Luna's mind countered.

"That's what she'd want you to think, you fool." Luna responded.

_But why? What could she gain from-_

"Think of the power she would have if you were out of the picture. She would be in charge of both the sun _and_ the moon. All the citizens would worship her alone. All the power, the glory, and riches would be all hers." Luna said harshly to her mind.

_No. Thou art lying! Get out of my head!_ Luna thought, clutching her head.

Before Luna could say anything, a bright flash of yellow light drew her attention. Where the flash appeared, Celestia was there.

"Sister, thou must come with me immediately." Celestia said sternly without so much as a greeting.

"What? Why?" Luna asked in a flummoxed manner.

"Starswirl has requested our presence in the library. From the sound of his request, it seems very urgent." Celestia said, taking a look over her sister's form on the bed. Celestia noted Luna's bloodshot eyes, tussled mane, and the bags under her eyes. All of which were indicators of a rough night. "Art thou alright?" She asked, looking concerned.

Luna got up and walked up next to her sister. "I am fine, sister. So shall we depart to see Starswirl then?" She asked, collecting herself from her previous state.

"So we shall." Celestia said, her horn glowing yellow once more. Luna squinted as the yellow light intensified before her. With a flash of yellow light, Celestia disappeared.

Before Luna began her teleportation spell, her mind spoke to her one last time. _Remember what I said. She may use this opportunity to be rid of thee._ She thought.

Shaking the thoughts from her head, Luna began her teleportation spell. With a bright blue flash and with lingering doubts in her mind, Luna disappeared from her bedchamber.


	22. Chapter 20

**Hey there, Fanfiction! Sorry for the long wait. Getting back to college took a little longer than I thought. But, with the moving-in and adjusting process over with, I am now able to resume writing this fic for you guys! Hopefully I'll find time amidst my studies to get some more writing in to get a new chapter to you next week. Review/Critique and I hope you guys enjoy the chapter!**

**Guardians of Light: A Shadow Forms**

**Chapter 20**

-Sky over northern Equestria: 1,000 years before Nightmare Moon's return-

Shooting Star glided above the clouds, the wind rushing through her fiery red and orange mane as she barely missed a passing cumulus. Shooting felt the wind rushing past her ears and through her mane, the feeling of soaring through the infinite expanse of the sky, and the feeling of exhilaration as she shot towards the snow-covered mountain range ahead of her. These feelings and more fueled Shooting Star's soul as her wings flapped up and down. The sky was her domain and nopony else's.

"Alright! Got the sky, now to get to this Crystal Empire. Question is, where exactly is it?" Shooting asked herself.

Shooting Star's briefing had been vague to say the least. All she was told was to investigate a newly discovered empire in the northern mountains. When she asked Commander Storm where this 'crystal empire' was exactly, he flatly told her that he didn't know other than the fact that it was in a valley in the middle of the northern mountains. As a mission, this was one of the weirdest assignments she'd taken. However, the thought of exploring uncharted territory excited Shooting Star so much that she accepted the mission after the briefing.

_Oh well. I'll know it when I see it._ Shooting thought as she flapped her wings even faster, accelerating towards the snow-covered mountain peaks .Shooting continued flying towards the mountains that lay ahead of her, both unsure and excited about what was in store for her when she got to her destination.

-Canterlot Castle: 1,000 years before Nightmare Moon's return-

"Starswirl, what is all this about?" Celestia asked as she and Luna walked through the library's doorway.

Starswirl looked up a pile of books he and Clover were studying to greet the princesses. "Ah, Princesses. I am glad to see thee here. I have some news regarding the Crystal Empire that I had received very recently."

"So what is all this about, magician?" Luna inquired as one of her eyebrows rose.

"I am glad that thou asked, Princess Luna. This book will provide the answers." Starswirl said, his horn lighting up a deep blue. A blue aura surrounded a white book with gold trim as it was levitated from the pile of books that Starswirl and his student had been looking through.

Celestia and Luna studied the book that hovered before them. The gold trim seemed emanate from the center of the book where a single pearl was embedded in the cover. The gold trim extended out from the center and swirled around the corners of the cover, making hypnotic shapes on the corners of the cover.

Celestia's eyes narrowed at the book, then gave Starswirl a confused look. "Is this book about the Crystal Empire?"

Starswirl grinned. "Yes and no, my Princess. I've found that this book has magical properties." Starswirl beamed about his discovery.

Luna, still not tearing her eyes from the book, spoke up. "What kind of magical properties?"

"When I opened it, it wrote back in response to the things I said." Starswirl said, earning a questioning look from the princess of the sun. "For example, I'd ask what the Crystal Empire was, and it would write out a response."

Celestia returned her gaze to the book. "How intriguing. Such magic is extremely rare. What could it mean?"

"Is that the only magical property? A book that writes back to answer the reader's questions?" Luna asked.

"Aye, Princess." Clover spoke up from behind the mountain of books he was looking through. "From what my teacher has told me, it was quite an experience."

_He didn't say it couldn't speak._ Luna thought, her gaze focused on the pearl in the center of the book. Sound faded into nothingness as only the book's voice was heard.

_That's because you that magician cannot handle the truths I can tell thee, Princess._ The book responded with a raspy tone inside her mind.

_What truths?_ Luna mentally asked.

_I can show thee many truths, Princess of the Night, some of which you may not have known to be acutalities. One such actuality is that your sister is going to try to destroy me._ The book responded.

_How can that be? Starswirl has revealed the truth-revealing powers that thou possess. She wouldn't destroy a magic vessel._ Luna thought.

_By getting rid of me, she will deprive thee of a magical vessel that thee can use against her._ The book responded. _Thou shalt soon see that thy sister has an unquenchable thirst for power. As a result, you will see what she does when another threatens her reign._ The book said. Luna narrowed her eyes at the book.

_Art thou implying that I would threaten her co-rule? Or should somepony else challenge her authority?_ Luna thought

_Now, now, Princess. All will be revealed in due time. But she can and will do everything to make sure she is unopposed. The same is said for the challenge she feels toward thee._

Inside Luna's mind, cogs were turning. _It does make sense. I have only begun to question my sister's hold on power. If she tries to destroy thee, then I swear that my sister will not lay a hoof on thee if thou help me against my sister._ Luna thought earnestly.

_I am glad that I have thy protection, Princess. Until the day she tries to destroy me, just go along with your sister's plans. If we succeed, thou shall have more power than you ever though possible. _The book responded, a swirling mixture of blues and blacks beginning to form on the white surface of the pearl.

Luna concentrated on the colors, trying to make out what they were creating. The colors finally formed together to form a black pair of eyelids. _Remember my instructions, Princess. Soon, you shall be rid of the sun and all the world will recognize the power and beauty that is the night. Soon, the night will last forever._ The book whispered, the eyelids on the pearl opening at the end of the book's words to reveal a teal blue eye with a slit pupil.

Luna looked into the eye on the pearl. Strangely, she felt a feeling of connection to the image, as if she was looking at a part of herself.

"Luna?" a voice asked to the right of Luna. Blinking a few times, Luna looked and saw her sister giving her a concerned look. "Luna, art thou well?" Celestia asked.

"I am fine, sister." Luna said, putting on a smile. "I may have zoned out for a bit." Luna looked back at the pearl in the cover, expecting the eye to still be there. To her disappointment, she didn't see it.

"Thou should get some rest." Celestia said in a concerned tone.

"Nay, dear sister. I am alright." Luna responded quickly. "Don't we have something more important to discuss than my lack of rest?"

Starswirl cleared his throat. "Well yes, we should. Now the Crystal Empire is not dissimilar to our kingdom. In fact, its roots are here in Equestria."

"How can that be?" Celestia asked.

"A young unicorn named Crystal Soul created the crystal pony race by fusing crystal and pony flesh. By giving a portion of his life to the fusion, he was able to create the first crystal ponies. This experiment, however, did not go over well with the locals. They cast him and his creations out, causing them to seek a new home. They eventually found one, deep in the northern mountain range. They found a clearing in the mountains and settled there and began building their civilization. Before passing on, Crystal gave his creations one final gift. Using the last of his life energy, he created a medium through which the crystal ponies could project their own magic. Sacrificing himself and concealing his life energy into a piece of crystal, he created what we know as the Crystal Heart." Starswirl said, pausing to make sure that every pony in the room was paying attention. Seeing that both princesses and his student were enraptured by what he said, Starswirl continued. "Until recently, the crystal ponies had lived in harmony. However, a new king on the throne has put an end to that harmony. His name is King Sombra, a unicorn king who has been turned into an agent of evil."

At hearing Sombra's name, Luna's ears perked up. _How could Sombra an agent of evil? He didn't seem evil when I met him in the dream. _She thought, recalling the dream she had a couple nights ago.

"So is it Sombra that caused the incident the other day?" Celestia asked.

"It would seem so, Princess." Clover said. "Whatever Sombra has done, it not only affected Equestria, but his kingdom as well."

"Have you sent a scout to the Crystal Empire yet?" Starswirl asked.

"Yes, she left within the past hour." Celestia responded.

"Is there any chance of catching her?" Clover asked concernedly.

Celestia's guise saddened. "Unfortunately, no. She is the fastest scout we have in the castle." She said.

Silence filled the library as everypony made the logical conclusion.

"She's on her own in an empire whose king has turned into a tyrant." Celestia said, voicing her thoughts. She turned to look at Luna. "Luna, get your rest. Tomorrow, we depart for the Crystal Empire."

-Canterlot Castle: 1,000 years later-

_Two more days._ Luna thought as she lay on her bed and looked outside her bedchamber's window. From the view of her window, she could see the bright blue expanse of the sky and the green pastures below the castle at the foot of the mountain. Even thought being on a mountain gave Canterlot a natural defense, Luna knew that a large rock would not be enough to protect Canterlot and its citizens from the imminent evil it faced. Luna knew that the beauty she saw out that window wouldn't be there in the next few days. _Two more days until he returns._

Ever since hearing Discord's prediction, dread had set itself upon her soul. Memories and images flooded her mind. Memories of when she became one with that monster and images of lunar craters surrounding her in every direction were brought to the front of her mind. Along with them came the feeling of utter loneliness. No pony to talk to, no contact with any pony, and only the voice in her head to talk to her. Having to bear that for a thousand years was something she did not intend to do a second time.

Luna closed her eyes and sighed somberly.

Luna's ears perked at hearing a familiar voice above her. "Feeling a bit down, are we my dear?" The voice said.

Luna looked up to see a certain draconequus hovering up near her ceiling. Luna gave Discord a brief smile. "Greetings, Discord. What brings you here?" She said, turning to look out the window again.

"I was passing by and noticed that a certain princess was looking a bit under the weather." Discord said, snapping his clawed fingers. With a flash of light, a dark gray rain cloud appeared over Luna. Luna looked up just in time to see rain beginning to fall out of the cloud and onto her head, soaking her majestic mane in seconds.

Closing her eyes to avoid water getting in them, Luna heard Discord snickering above her. "Discord! This'll take hours to dry!" Luna exclaimed at the chaotic spirit as she opened her eyes to look over her doused state.

"Just trying to lighten the mood, Luna." Discord said in a joking tone, snapping his fingers again. With a second flash of light, the rain cloud and its water vanished into thin air.

Luna again looked over herself and patted her mane with a hoof to make sure it was dry. To her satisfaction, her flowing blue mane was dry as it was a few minutes ago.

"Thank you for your concern, Discord. However, I cannot say that it picked up my spirits." Luna said, her somber complexion returning.

Discord pouted. "Not even a little?"

Luna looked up at Discord and smirked at his pout. "Okay, maybe a little bit." She responded. Discord beamed at his efforts. "However, it does not remove the problem that is troubling my mind."

Discord gave her and understanding look. "I see. You refer to the shadow, don't you?"

Luna's head dipped. "Yes. It's all I've been thinking about for the past day."

Discord nodded in reply. "If it gives you any comfort, your sister is just as concerned about you as you are of the shadow."

Luna looked up at Discord. "Really?" She asked.

Discord smiled thoughtfully and disappeared in a flash of light. A split second later, Discord appeared at Luna's side on the bed, only he was ten times smaller than his normal size.

"Well it's easy to think it's just you against the world when you feel so small. But you know what I've found?" Discord said, his voice had risen in pitch to match his smaller size.

Luna looked down at Discord with a puzzled look. "What is it?"

"Well let me put it this way." Discord said, his body and voice returning to normal as he grew bigger and bigger with each word. "When you find someone who cares about you in the midst of a crisis, suddenly things are put a little more into perspective." He finished, now at his normal height and his voice deepening to its normal pitch. Luna maintained eye contact with Discord all through what he said, then looked down at the bed in thought. "Your sister cares about you very deeply, Luna. Celestia will never abandon you to the evils that haunt your past." He said, putting his arm on Luna's shoulders.

Luna gave Discord a smile. "Thank you, Discord."

Discord stood up and put his hands on his hips. "Well you don't have me around just for my dashing looks." He said with a grin.

Luna giggled at the joke. She was about to say something when a whiff of green smoke suddenly flew through the window. Luna and Discord both stopped and watched as the smoke settled in front of Luna and then transformed into a rolled up scroll. Luna looked at the seal on the scroll and recognized it as Twilight's seal, and the only one that could send messages like that was a certain purple dragon.

"Spike? Why would he be sending me a message?" Luna asked, her horn lighting up blue and taking the scroll with her magic. Unrolling it, Luna began to read.

_Princess Luna, I need your help! __Something has happened to Twilight again! I went downstairs to find her and found her on the floor of the kitchen in the same position as the last time this happened! She was lying on the floor, unresponsive, and her eyes were glowing purple! As soon as you get this letter, I need you to get here as quickly as possible!_

_Your loyal subject,_

_Spike_

"Something the matter, Luna?" Discord asked. Luna looked up from the letter and saw Discord's confused look.

"I'm sorry, Discord, but something has come up that requires my attention." Luna said, setting the letter down next to her on the bed.

Discord nodded understandingly. "I see. I'll see you around then." Discord said as he watched her horn begin to brighten.

"Agreed. And Discord…" Luna said as her horn's light began to crescendo. Their eyes met as Luna finished. "Thank you." With that, Luna disappeared in a flash of blue light.

Discord sighed. _Duty calls I suppose._ He thought, his gaze going to the letter on the bed. Curiosity sprang to life in his mind. _Now what was so important that she had to leave all of a sudden?_

Discord picked up the letter and began to read through it. Discord rubbed his chin at the mention of Twilight's predicament not being the first time something like that had happened. As he continued to read, his eyes widened at the mention of Twilight's eyes. Purple.

_So the Keeper's gotten to her too._ Discord thought. _Things are happening much faster than they were supposed to._ He thought, looking out at the pastures below the castle window. _Should I tell Celestia about this?_ Discord wondered. While he didn't want Celestia to interrupt whatever Luna was doing, he couldn't help the feeling that this was something she needed to know too. Sighing, Discord came to the logical conclusion. With a flash of light, Discord disappeared from the bedroom.

-Ponyville Library-

With a flash of blue light, Luna appeared in the Ponyville library. Looking around, she didn't see Spike or Twilight, only a surprised looking owl on its pole near a window.

"I apologize, my nocturnal friend." Luna addressed the owl, who by now had recovered from the princess's surprise appearance.

"Hoot hoot." The owl replied and waved back at Luna as a greeting. After giving the owl a brief smile, Luna looked around again. Not seeing Twilight was surprising. If she knew one of the princesses was here, she'd be front and center in seconds. Yet, she saw no pony in the library. Luna turned to the owl again. "Excuse me, but where may I find your owner and her dragon?"

The owl pointed down a hallway at the far side of the room. Taking a look at the hallway, Luna turned back to the helpful bird.

"Thank you." Luna said to the owl, who then hooted happily in reply.

Luna began to walk down the hallway. As she neared the kitchen entrance, she heard voices talking from inside.

"I'm so glad you're okay!" Spike's voice could be heard as Luna began to get a look inside the kitchen. She found Spike embracing Twilight in the middle of the room.

Luna watched as Twilight looked at the young dragon and returned the hug.

"Of course I'm okay Spike. But I need to get an urgent-" Twilight began to say, but clutched her head. Luna guessed her head hurt from whatever she had just gone through. "-message to the Princesses."

Luna stepped into the entryway of the kitchen and addressed the purple alicorn."What message?" Luna asked from under the doorway to the kitchen.

Both Spike and Twilight turned to see Luna standing in the doorway. Instantly, Twilight rushed up to Luna.

"Princess! How long have you been here?" Twilight asked.

"I received Spike's message a few minutes ago and came straight here. What seems to be the trouble, Spike?" Luna asked, looking at the dragon.

"Wait, what?" Twilight interjected, turning to look at Spike. "Spike, you sent a message to Princess Luna?"

"You were passed out on the floor like the last time you read that book. I didn't want to-" Spike said, but was interrupted.

"Hold it!" Luna exclaimed. "A book? What book?" She asked.

"Yes. It was the same book I read when I had those visions." Twilight said, the memories of her nightmare coming back to her mind. "It should be right… behind…" Twilight began to say, turning her head to look behind her, but didn't see the book in question.

"Was it a white book?" Luna asked in an uneasy tone, earning a surprised look from Twilight. "Gold trim that made spiraling patterns on the corners? Pearl in the middle?"

"Exactly like that! Well, except for the pearl part." Twilight said.

"What do you mean?" Luna asked, her eyes narrowing.

"There wasn't a pearl in the middle. It was a diamond-shaped ruby." Twilight responded.

Spike spoke up. "So are there two books?" He asked, rubbing his chin with a claw.

Luna shook her head. "No. They are one and the same. However, the fact it was a ruby in the middle instead of a pearl makes a huge difference."

"How so?" Twilight asked, raising a hoof tentatively.

"In the time your mind was in the book, what did it say and did it foretell anything?" Luna asked.

"Yeah, and why were your eyes glowing purple?" Spike added onto the questions.

Luna spoke up to explain. "The book is a medium through which two beings can communicate with the reader. Depending on whether a ruby or a pearl is on the cover, it shows which being is using the book."

Twilight nodded. "That's one thing that the book told me when I was reading it." She verified.

"What else did it say?" Luna pressed.

Twilight scratched the back of her head. "Well… it said what you just said about the book. It also said what I believe is some sort of warning." Twilight said.

Luna stood with a stone-faced expression. "Go on." She said.

"I'm trying to remember it." Twilight said, her mind working a thousand miles an hour to remember what the book had said. "Oh! It said things are happening… things that will shake the foundations of every civilization in the world. Equestria, the Griffon Kingdoms, Saddle Arabia, and the Crystal Empire were some examples the book gave."

"Hmm." Luna said, looking at the floor in contemplation. "So an event that will be felt around the world is soon to happen. Continue."

"The book also said that the Elements of Harmony won't be enough to contain whatever is about to happen." Twilight said grimly.

"What? That's impossible!" Spike exclaimed. "I've seen you guys use the Elements before. There's no way the Elements can't take care of what this thing is."

"Believe it or not, Spike, there are powers in this world that dwarf the Elements' power. This being must be one of those powers. Go on, Twilight."

Twilight swallowed. "There was one other thing. The book said that in order to achieve good, good ponies must do bad things." She said, looking at Luna's and Spike's enraptured faces. "Put to death that which is evil. That's what it said."

"Put to death?" Spike repeated the phrase, the very mention of death leaving a sour taste in his mouth.

"Was that all?" Luna asked.

"Before leaving the book, it said one last thing." Twilight said, Luna's expression telling her to continue. "The long night approaches. Do you know what that means, Princess?"

Luna stood there, an emotionless expression on her face. "I have heard that phrase several times now. It cannot be a coincidence." She said, turning to face the kitchen's exit.

"What? What's a coincidence?" Spike asked.

A determined look found itself on Luna's visage. Turning her head to Twilight and Spike, she replied, "We need to gather the other elements. They need to hear about this. You as well, Spike." The night princess said, addressing the dragon.

Spike put on a surprised face. "What? Why me?"

"You received a dream just as the others and myself did. The fact it was all the Elements that got their nightmare in the same night is no coincidence."

"But I'm not an Element-bearer. Neither are you, Princess." Spike protested.

"True, but the fact that we had nightmares just as they did means that we are connected in the same way that they were. We will meet back here in the library tonight at nine o'clock. Be ready to discuss your visions, Twilight." Luna said, her horn beginning to glow blue.

"But Princess, what should we do until then?" Twilight asked.

"You and Spike try to do some research on the things you encountered in the vision. I have some business to take care of back in Canterlot. Until next time, farewell." Luna said, her horn's glow reaching its brightest. In a bright flash of light, Luna disappeared from the library.

After sitting in silence for several moments, Twilight turned to Spike. "Let's get to it, Spike. We have until tonight to figure out what's going on. Compile every historical and arcane work we have. I'll go out and tell the others about our meeting tonight." Twilight said, galloping down out of the kitchen and down the hallway towards the library entrance.

Sighing, Spike began to walk back to the library's atrium to search for books. _Whatever's going on here, I don't have a good feeling about it._ He thought as he entered the atrium. Looking at all the books, he clasped his hands and rubbed them together. He had some work to do.


	23. Author's Note 3

**Guardians of Light: A Shadow Forms**

**Author's Note 3**

**Hey, Fanfiction! Sorry if this author's note confused an of you that this update was another chapter. Now that college has started rolling, I've been finding less and less time to work on GoL. However, I will try to find time amidst everything to get a chapter out to you good people! For those of you that have submitted OC's and haven't seen them in the story, I will get them into the story at the appropriate times of the plot****. Also, I'd like to thank these users for their support by recently following/favoriting the story! **

**-God of the Dragons**

**-LittleMissMedieval**

**As for the next chapter, don't worry. I cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye that I'll have another one by the end of next week. Thanks for being patient with me and thanks for the follows/favorites!**

**P.S.- While my schedule has been too cluttered to do some serious writing as of late, I figured I'd start a new smaller project just for the fun of it. You can go check out the first chapter of my latest work, My Little Paintball: Warfare is Magic. It's MLP fic where both canon characters and submitted OC's wage a mass-scale paintball war. Thanks for the support and I'll catch y'all next time!**


	24. Chapter 21

**Guardians of Light: A Shadow Forms**

**Chapter 21**

-Canterlot Castle: 1,000 years before Nightmare Moon's return-

"Begging your pardon, Highness, but please forgive me if this seems a bit blunt." Commander Storm said, composing himself and clearing his throat before further addressing the princess of the sun. "Thou art doing WHAT?!" Commander Storm exclaimed, his voice echoing off the walls of the throne room.

"I told thee, Commander." Celestia calmly replied from the seat of her throne. "My sister and I are departing for the Crystal Empire upon the morrow."

"Princess, with all due respect, this idea seems absurd. How art thou going to defeat this 'Sombra' character anyway?" Storm asked, giving the princess a concerned look.

"The same way we defeated and imprisoned Discord. I have already sent a servant to collect the Elements of Harmony for Luna and I." Celestia replied.

Commander Storm shook his head. "I just don't know, Princess."

"It will be alright, Commander." Celestia said reassuringly. "No creature in Equestria can resist the Elements' power. King Sombra will be no exception."

"It's not King Sombra that I am worried about, your Highness. I just can't shake this…. feeling. Hast thou ever had the feeling that something terrible will happen?" Commander Storm asked.

Celestia nodded understandingly. "Yes, Commander. I have."

"Well that is what I am feeling. There's just this gut-instinct that is giving me all these warning signs. Warning signs to what, I do not know." Storm said.

"Do not worry, Commander. Once Sombra is taken care of, everything will return to the way it was before this whole mess started." Celestia said, standing up from her throne and began walking down the steps leading from it.

"I do not doubt it, Princess." The unicorn guard said, bowing as Celestia passed him on her way towards the throne room exit. "But what of the sixth Element? Magic?"

Celestia looked down at the guard commander. "Remember the battle with Discord. What happened when we had all the other elements together?"

Storm thought back to when he witnessed Discord's imprisonment at the hands of the celestial sisters. "It appeared. As if out of thin air." He responded.

Celestia nodded. "That is correct. You know the Reference Guide to the Elements of Harmony, right?" She asked. Commander Storm nodded. "It says that when the other Elements are together, the sixth will appear."

"I remember, Highness. But where does the sixth Element come from? It seems to be here one minute and gone the next." Commander Storm said with a confused expression.

"The Element of Magic is concentrated magic power in the form of a charm. The Element of Magic makes itself perceptible only when it is needed. It has yet to disappear since our battle with Discord. Maybe it will fade back into magical energy once Sombra is defeated as well."

Commander Storm nodded. "Understood, Princess. So what is thy plan until thy departure?"

Celestia closed her eyes and exhaled. "I will be preparing myself to utilize the Elements to their full potential. I will visit Luna later today to let her know when the Elements have arrived from the tower."

"Very well." Commander Storm said. "And I am assuming that thou hast no orders for me."

Celestia smiled at the gray unicorn. "Thy assumptions are correct. Thou may return to the barracks to get some rest. Thou will be having a busy day tomorrow."

Storm's eyebrow rose. "How so, Princess?"

"Because you will be overseeing the castle while Luna and I are away." Celestia said with a grin.

Storm returned the grin. "I'll make sure to have this grand old castle looking even better for thy return." He said, bowing before he sun goddess.

"Thank you, Commander." Celestia said, motioning for her commander to rise. "I just pray that Shooting Star will make it back alright. In times like these, it helps to have loyal guards like you and her." Celestia said, giving Storm a smile.

Storm returned the smile as he stood back up. "I thank thee that thou hold me in such esteem, Princess. However, thou should not be concerned for Shooting Star. She will be on her own for at least a day, but I have full confidence that she will be alright."

"How art thou so sure?" Celestia asked, raising an eyebrow.

Storm gave Celestia a reassuring look. "Trust me, Princess. I can find no scout finer than Shooting Star. She is competent, courageous, focused, and always knows what to do."

-North Equestrian mountain range: 1,000 years before Nightmare Moon's return-

"I have no idea what to do here." Shooting Star muttered to herself. She looked around her and all she could see were mountains. The snow-capped giants rose up in every direction she looked. _I must be in the center of the range by now._ Shooting wondered. Even below all the mountain peaks, the wind still howled and blew between the mountains, chilling Shooting Star to her core. _Well I'm not going to get anything accomplished by just hovering here. I've gotta keep moving._ She thought, flapping her wings and flew deeper into the mountain passes.

"Jeez. What kind of civilization would want to live in these kinds of conditions?" Shooting Star thought aloud as she maneuvered between two tall mountains. _Then again, what kind of civilization would survive out here? They'd have to be made of stone or something to get over this cold._ She wondered.

Looking down at the mountainous terrain below, Shooting Star spotted something flowing between the rocks. A crystal clear liquid was winding its way down the mountains. "Water?" She asked. _I suppose that would make sense. Snow melts in a lower part of the atmosphere where it isn't as cold. _Shooting Star deduced._ But where's it flowing? Well… wherever it's flowing, I'll bet civilization must be along its banks._

Closing her wings, Shooting Star began to free fall towards the stream below. Shooting Star let the wind rush past her ears, the stream coming closer with every second. Her mind began calculating when to get out of the free fall. _Gravity works at a rate of near 10 feet per second. The river is no more than three hundred feet in front of me… just a few more seconds._ Shooting thought. The dark gray cliffs shot by her vision, the snow from the tops of the mountains giving way to craggy ledges. The clear mountain stream got closer and closer. Behind her goggles, Shooting's bright blue eyes narrowed with determination as she began to reach terminal velocity.

_NOW!_ Shooting's mind shouted. Extending her wings, Shooting immediately exited the free fall and shot through the winding cliffs, turning and maneuvering as she followed the river.

"Woohooo!" Shooting joyously exclaimed as she flapped her wings, barely keeping a few inches above the rushing water. _Now… where do you go?_ Shooting thought as she flew through the craggy canyon.

Shooting Star followed the snaky river for a while until she looked up and saw a clearing open up past the rocks before her. "Huh? What's this?" Shooting thought aloud as she flew towards the opening. Once reaching the canyon's exit, Shooting landed on a rock that jutted out from the opening, dividing the river in two. Shooting looked ahead and could only sit and gawk in amazement and horror at what she saw.

She'd reached her destination: The Crystal Empire.

-Canterlot Castle: 1,000 years before Nightmare Moon's return-

Luna lay on her bed, trying to get the rest that she had missed the night before. As she lay there, the voice from the book echoed in her mind, whispering its plans to her. Every part of her was screaming that the things the book said weren't true. Yet, something inside her believed every word.

_Celestia… my own sister. It just can't be true._ Luna thought, her eyes clenched shut in thought. _It cannot be! _Her mind was divided. One half couldn't possibly believe the things that were being said about her sister. Celestia was too kind and too genuine to betray her for more power. But the other side of her mind said that is what made it so believable, that it would be the last thing to expect. Luna shook her head on her silky pillow, a tear sliding down her cheek. _Who should I believe anymore?_

"Listen to thy feelings, Princess of the Night. They will always guide thy path." A deep voice filled the room.

Luna's eyes shot open at hearing the voice. She was instantly alert, jumping from her bed and getting into a defensive stance. "Who goes there?" She exclaimed, looking around her room to find the trespasser. What Luna found surprised her. Everything surrounding her was blackness. She spun around to see if her bed was where it was when she leapt off it. It too, was gone in the black. Luna began to panic, turning her head in every direction, but she couldn't see anything.

"Do not fear, Princess Luna. Thou art safe here." The voice said.

"Who art thou? Reveal thyself!" Luna exclaimed into the darkness, hoping to see the intruder that was she was talking to.

"Behind thee, Princess." The voice said. Luna whipped around to see the being she was speaking with. What she was looking at, however, she did not know.

Before her stood a levitating translucent serpent. Luna looked over the creature, noting its features. Its body structure was similar to that of a draconequus's, but slightly larger than Discord. The serpent's snout extended from its face by a few inches. At the ends of its arms were scaly hands with sharp claws at the ends of each appendage. Finally, Luna looked into the creature's eyes. Her breath hitched at seeing the glowing purple irises that stared back at her.

"Does my appearance surprise thee, Princess?" The serpentine being asked. Luna slowly nodded. "Forgive me, then. My image is less appealing than that of my counterpart's. Speaking of whom, I believe that thou hast met him already."

"Thy counterpart? Who is it?" Luna asked in a tentative tone.

The serpent sighed. "He goes by multiple aliases. However, he may be referred to as the Shadow."

"The Shadow?" Luna asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes. He has been courting you for the past few days now. I warn thee now, Luna. Should thou accept his offer for power, it will set forth a chain of events that can only end one way."

"What dost thou mean? His offer for power?" Luna asked.

The serpent folded his arms. "Thou knowest what it is that I refer to, the whispers of betrayal against thy sister and the warnings to be wary. These are false consultations."

"How can thou be so sure?" Luna asked, narrowing her eyes at the serpent. "How do I know that thou aren't just trying to trick me?"

The serpent shook his head. "I have seen his multiple attempts at ruling this world. He will do whatever is necessary to gain power. Getting to thee and turning thee against thy sister is just another ploy of his."

_Me? Just a pawn in some greater being's grand scheme? It's not possible! I refuse to accept that! _ Luna thought.

"I never wanted any of this!" Luna shouted at the stone-faced serpent. "I have been arguing with my feelings, my mind, and that being you name Shadow ever since he came into my life."

The serpent's head lowered to Luna's eye level and put a clawed hand on her shoulder. "We must act with what we are dealt, Princess. There are millions that wish they weren't in the positions they are in, but they can't just wish it away. They must fight through their present circumstances, as must you."

Luna looked into the serpent's glowing purple eyes. "Thou said that should I pursue the Shadow's interests, the chain of events I start would only end in one way. What does that mean?" She asked with a fearful expression.

The serpent exhaled and rose back up. "It is best that I show you rather than tell you." With those words, the serpent faded into the blackness surrounding Luna.

Luna looked around her, trying to see where the serpent went. Suddenly, a bright light flashed before her. Luna lifted her hoof, shielding her eyes from the light. After a brief moment, Luna lowered her hoof to see what the light was. What she saw made her jaw drop.

She was in the middle of a grassy plain that was surrounded by hills. The darkness of night covered the land. Stars filled the sky, but there was no moon. Luna looked down and beheld what was in front of her. Before her were rows upon rows of ponies and griffons, all armor-clad and wielding variety of weapons. Some had swords, others had spears strapped to their sides, and some of the griffons had strange bow-like contraptions strapped onto their backs. Before Luna could study the army in front of her further, a shrill war cry rose up from behind her. The sound was nothing like she'd heard before. It sounded like ponies whinnying, but with a growl mixed into it. Slowly, Luna turned to see what made the sound. In front of her was one of the most terrifying things she'd ever seen. Another army stood before her, only this much army was much more frightening. An army whose soldiers were all mutilated and disfigured. Not one soldier looked alike. They all had rotting flesh on some parts of their bodies and some of the creatures with more rotted flesh had bones protruding from the skin in multiple places. However, they all had one similarity. The eyes of every mutant were glazed red.

"Shadow!" A familiar voice from the pony-griffon side cried across the field. Luna turned around to see who was speaking. Luna looked and beheld who was speaking. It was herself. Luna was looking at her future self. Future Luna was clad in silver armor from head to hoof. On her head was an iron helmet with a hole in the top for her horn to stick out. On her breastplate and the center of her helmet was a black crescent moon. On her right hoof was some sort of dark blue metal gauntlet that had the same moon symbol engraved onto the wrist.

Future Luna spoke again, sending shivers down Luna's spine. "For long enough, you have terrorized this land! You butchered, enslaved, and destroyed everything and everypony we hold dear! But no more! Your night is over! On this day, the dawn will be heralded! On this day, a new sun will rise! On this day, the light banishes the dark back to whence it came! So tremble, you forces of darkness! For the sun is rising, and the day is in our favor!" As Future Luna spoke, a bright light began to rise behind them, causing Luna to squint as she watched her future self give a final battle rally. "Guardians of Light! Today we banish this present darkness! For Equestria! For the Griffon Kingdom! For the Crystal Empire! And that darkness may be purged from this world!" Future Luna shouted, thrusting her gauntleted hoof, a sharp blade shooting from the armor piece. Raising the blade high, Future Luna shouted one last time. "CHAAAARGE!"

With that word, ponies and griffons began galloping down the hill, their war cheers and shouts rising up against the enemy, the fire of battle in their hearts. On the other side, every mutated soldier began galloping to meet the enemy in the middle of the field, their snarls and cries filling the air. Luna looked up, seeing armored pegasi and griffons filling the sky while the mutants' winged troops flew up to meet them in aerial combat. Luna looked from side to side, seeing each side coming closer. She was too stunned to move as the opposing armies galloped and flying closer and closer together, their war cries growing to a crescendo as they neared each other. Luna looked back at the pony-griffon side to see her future self galloping straight towards her, a righteous fury in her eyes. Just as both armies were about to collide where Luna was standing, the vision exploded into a bright light. Shutting her eyes and covering them with one of her hooves, Luna protected her vision from the brightness.

After a few moments, Luna opened her eyes again to see that she was back in the darkness she was in before. Her heart was racing and her breathing was quick as the images she saw burned into her mind. _What did I just witness?_ Luna thought.

"Should thou become involved in the Shadow's undertakings, what thee just saw is what will happen in the end." The voice returned as the serpent faded into view in front of Luna.

"That pony at the front of the fight? That was me?" Luna asked. The serpent nodded. "And that was the sun rising behind my future self's army… was Celestia doing that?"

"All things will be revealed in due time, my little pony." The serpent said with a slight smile. "For now, it is time for thee to wake up. Thy sister is coming to get you up soon."

"Wait!" Luna shouted, holding a hoof up. "I have so many questions! What was that I saw? What are the Guardians of Light? What is-" Luna asked, but was cut off as the darkness surrounding her instantly filled her vision.

Her eyes fluttered open as Luna tried to get her surroundings. Luna looked around and saw that she was in her room and under the covers on her bed. "It was all a dream?" Luna thought aloud, looking down at the covers. _But what about the battle? And the serpent? It all seemed so real._ Luna thought, shaking her head. Luna began to think over the serpent's words and what it said about this Shadow that she was talking with. Her thoughts then strayed back to the battle she witnessed. The last thing Luna would want to do was bring war to Equestria, especially over something as petty as jealousy. Now that she thought about it, much of the voice's advice was not grounded in any truth that she knew of. _Maybe the serpent's right. Maybe Celestia won't betray me after all._ Luna thought. For the first time in what felt like forever, Luna smiled.

A soft knocking sounded from her bedroom door. "Luna? Art thou awake?" Celestia's voice said from the other side.

"Yes, sister. Give me a minute." Luna said, kicking the covers off and getting up from her bed.

As Luna trotted to the door, a voice whispered in the back of her mind. _Be careful of her intentions, Luna. Remember what I said._

-Canterlot Castle: Present Day-

Celestia looked up at the stained glass images that lined the walls of the throne room. They all depicted famous historical events that had occurred during her reign. The imprisonment of Discord, the redemption of Luna, Spike saving the Crystal Empire, and so many more events filled her vision. Celestia began to reflect on everything she'd been through. She had been able to take control of the situation, directly or indirectly, and defuse it with no harm done to her subjects. This time, however, Celestia feared that her power might not be enough to stop what was to come.

Celestia closed her eyes and sighed. _We have only two days until we can get to Starswirl's tomb. I can only hope that we find a solution down there._ She thought.

"The answer may be closer than you think." A familiar and mischievous voice said behind her.

Without turning around, Celestia already knew who it was. "What do you want, Discord?"

Discord feigned a surprised expression. "Well. Somepony's not in a very good mood today."

Celestia shook her head and turned around to see the draconequus. "It's just that… I don't know what to do. My power, Luna's power, hay, even the power of the Elements of Harmony are inferior to that of the Shadow's."  
Discord gave Celestia an understanding look. "And you feel overwhelmed by this?" Celestia nodded. Sighing, Discord spoke up again. "Have I ever told you what it felt like to be consumed by the Elements?"

Celestia shook her head. "No I don't believe so. How is that relevant to the present situation?" She asked skeptically.

Discord began to recall when he was first imprisoned by the Elements' power. "When you and Luna first used the Elements of Harmony on me, it made me feel something I hadn't felt in a long time." Discord paused to look at Celestia's expression. "Fear. I was scared to death. I didn't know what the mystical charms that two pony princesses were using would do to me. As I was turned to stone, a part of me was glad that I wasn't killed. But being turned to stone, I soon realized the implications of such a fate. To me, that was more frightening than death itself." Discord said with a frown.

"So how does this help me?" Celestia asked.

Discord smiled. "When the Elements were used to free me and after Fluttershy reformed me, I began to think. What I thought was a cruel punishment at first was later a chance for redemption. What I perceived to be bad, actually turned out to be good in the end."

Raising a tentative hoof, Celestia asked, "What are you trying to say?"

"I'm saying that things will work out. They always will. Think about it. The Shadow is the culmination of everything dark in this world. Dark as night, you might say." Discord said, earning a confused look from Celestia. "Every night heralds a new dawn, Celestia. You of all ponies should know that." He said, making Celestia smile a little bit at his words. Discord looked into Celestia's purple eyes and continued. "Have faith, Princess. The night may be coming, but the day will always follow."

Celestia gave Discord a smile. "Thank you, Discord. I really needed that."

Discord extended his arms and grinned at the solar princess. "Well what am I here for?"

Celestia gave a light chuckle. "So is that all you came by to say?"

Discord stroked his chin. "Actually, there is one other thing you should know."

Celestia's smile faded a bit. "And what might that be?"

"Luna." Discord said, the name of her sister caused Celestia to become instantly concerned. "Don't worry, she's fine. She just got a message from Twilight a few minutes ago and left almost immediately upon receiving it."

"Where is she now?" Celestia asked hastily.

"I'd guess the Ponyville Library, but-" Discord began to speak, but was cut off by a bright blue flash of light next to him and Celestia. They both turned to see what caused the flash only to see Princess Luna standing in the middle of the throne room.

Luna turned and saw that both her sister and Discord were staring at her. "Oh. Hello, everypony. Did I miss something?"

-Northern Equestrian mountains: Present Day-

"Do you remember where the cave is, my Queen?" Raspian shouted over the mountain wind that blew past the two changelings, the wind whistling as it blew through the holes in their hooves.

"Even if I tried, I wouldn't be able to forget where its location was!" Chrysalis shouted back as her perforated wings fought against the chilly wind. The trip hadn't been difficult until they had reached the mountains. The only thing that was preventing the two changelings from getting to their ally was the howling mountain wind.

"We need to land soon, Highness! We'll freeze out here soon!" Raspian warned. Chrysalis nodded back in reply. Knowing that changelings were cold-blooded creatures, she figured that they would survive for no more than half an hour in their present conditions.

"We are almost there! I remember going past these mountains the last time!" Chrysalis yelled as they passed two snow-covered mountain peaks.

Raspian exhaled, his breath turning to smoky fog as it exited his nostrils. "With all due respect, your Majesty, every mountain here looks the same to me! How can you remember where the cave is?"

After a few moments of looking down at the mountainous terrain below, Chrysalis looked at Raspian with a smile. "I'm sure you would remember the snow bank down there that you crashed into!" She exclaimed, pointing a hoof at a flat snowy surface in the middle of a cluster of peaks on one side and a cliff on the other.

Raspian's eyes lit up with familiarity. "Oh yeah! I remember that! Let's go!" He shouted, diving towards the snowy mesa below.

"Raspian! Not so fast! Remember the last time you came in that quickly?" Chrysalis shouted at her captain, taking off to catch up with him.

Raspian turned his head to see his queen. "Of course I remember!" he shouted back, turning his head forward and closing his eyes smugly. "How could I not remember how to land on that snow? I think I have learned my less- OH BUCK!" Opening his eyes at the last second, Raspian saw how quickly approaching the snowbank. Having no time to slow down, he shielded his face with his hooves, bracing for impact. Raspian smashed headfirst into the snow bank, leaving only his tail visible above the snow.

Chrysalis softly landed next to her captain in the snow. Chrysalis chuckled at seeing Raspian in this state for the second time. "Hehe. It would help to see where you're going. Perhaps if you weren't so smug about learning from your past experience, you wouldn't have to learn this lesson as well." She said with a sly grin.

"Ha ha ha." Raspian's muffled voice sounded from underneath the snow. "Mnd gvng me a hf out of hre?"

Chrysalis shook her head as her crooked horn lit up bright green. A green aura surrounded Raspian's tail as Chrysalis's magic pulled him out of the snow. Once free of the snow bank, Raspian stood up as Chrysalis let go of his tail.

"Thanks." He said, using a hoof to brush off some snow that stuck to his mane.

"You're welcome. Now shall we stop fooling around and get to business?" Chrysalis asked, walking to the side of the mesa where the cliff was. Raspian trotted behind her and approached the cliff's edge. Looking over the edge, Raspian could see the tunnel entrance where they found Lodestar.

"After you, milady." Raspian said extending a hoof off the cliff edge.

Chrysalis put a hoof to her chest and tilted her head. "Such a gentlecolt." With that, the changeling queen leapt off the edge and flew into the cave entrance.

After watching Chrysalis go in, Raspian sighed and looked around the mountains one last time. Putting on a brave face, he jumped off the cliff edge, extended his wings, and maneuvered his way towards the cave entrance.

Raspian flew into the mouth of the tunnel entrance, flapping his wings as he descended onto the black tunnel floor. Raspian looked around, seeing that the cave was exactly the way as it was when they had left it. Emeralds dotted the cave walls, giving a faint greet light to the otherwise pitch-black cave.

Walking down the tunnel for a few moments, Raspian stopped to look at the markings that they had found the first time. The ancient letters and symbols covered the wall to his right, the runes lit up by the emeralds surrounding them.

_In this cave, an ancient evil lies within,_

_When released, the long night shall begin._

_Through it, all races shall bind,_

_As the fates of all become intertwined._

_The Six will become Eight,_

_And end the Guardians' wait._

Raspian's eyes narrowed at the memory of what the letters had said. Raspian rubbed his chin with a hoof and he began to ponder the meanings of the mysterious markings as he read them. _The long night shall begin? The fates of all become intertwined? Six becoming Eight and end the Guardians' wait? _After thinking over the glyphs for a few moments, Raspian came to a conclusion. _I still have no idea what these words is saying._ He thought, disappointed that the runes had stumped him.

Raspian's ears perked at hearing a voice ahead of him in the tunnel. "Raspian? You back there?" Chrysalis's voice sounded.

"Yes, my Queen. How far ahead are you?" Raspian asked.

"Almost at the central chamber. I'll wait up for you." Chrysalis's voice replied.

At hearing this, Raspian began briskly trotting down the increasingly dark tunnel to reach Chrysalis. Soon, Raspian couldn't see two feet in front of him because of the darkness of the tunnel.

"Your Highness? Am I any closer to you?" Raspian called out.

Chrysalis responded, this time her voice sounded much closer. "Hold on."

Suddenly, Raspian saw a glowing bright green looking stick floating in the middle of the darkness. _Her horn!_ He thought, a smile widening on his face. Raspian galloped down the tunnel, Chrysalis's horn becoming larger and larger until he could see the top of Chrysalis's head being illuminated by her horn's light.

"There you are." Chrysalis said as Raspian caught up to her.

Raspian gave a sigh of relief. "Yeah. Let's try to stick together this time."

"Agreed. You can turn yours on too, you know." Chrysalis said as she turned and began walking down the tunnel towards the central chamber.

"Oh right." Raspian said in an embarrassed tone. As he concentrated, Raspian's horn began to glow bright green like Chrysalis's. "There we go." He said, following Chrysalis deeper into the tunnel.

After several minutes of walking down the tunnel, Raspian and Chrysalis finally reached the central chamber of the cave. The tunnel opened up into a massive cavern, in the corner of which was what looked like a swirling mass of shadow.

Raspian looked up at Chrysalis, looked back at the cavern, and swallowed. "Well… this is it." Raspian said, jumping off the tunnel opening and extending his wings. As he glided down towards the cave floor, he saw Chrysalis doing the same. Soon, both changelings were on the cave floor, only a few meters from the shadowy creature before them.

Chrysalis cleared her throat and spoke. "Lodestar." She said to the shadowy figure.

The Shadow's eyes opened, revealing his glowing yellow irises. Even though the changelings couldn't see it behind the shadows surrounding him, a fang-toothed smile grew wide on his face.

With a growl, the Shadow began to speak. "Ah, Captain Raspian and Queen Chrysalis. Welcome back to my dwelling place. It's been too long since we last met."

**Hey Fanfiction! Just a heads-up as to what's going on with this fic, I won't be working on this for a while. I probably won't get another chapter in until two weeks from now. The reason for this is that I'll be working on my other fic, My Little Paintball: Warfare is Magic(go check it out if you want!), and I'll be busy with schoolwork as well. Don't worry, I will find time to work on this story for you wonderful people out there! Thanks for the support**** and review/critique!**


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